■^Vh^ 


ss 


SOUTHERN  BRANCH 

wimsny  of  California 

LIBRARY,  ' 

UDS  ANGELES,  CALIF. 


PKINCIPLES  AND  METHODS 
OF   TEACHING 


PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS 


OF 


TEACHING 


JAMES   WELTON,  M.A. 


PR0FKS30R    OF   EDUCATION    IN   THF.   UNIVERSITY   OF   LEEDS 

AUTHOR  OF    "the   LOGICAL   BASES   OF    KDDCATION,"    "a   MANUAL   OF   LOGIC,"  ETC. 

AND   OF  TnE   ARTICLE   ON    "  EDUCATION  "    IN   THE  ENCYCLOPAEDIA   BRITANNICA 


Set'enth  linpyession   (Second  Edition) 


BALTIMORE,    MD.,    U.S.A. 

WARWICK    &    YORK,    INC 
TUnivei-sitB  tutorial  ipre5S..X&. 

EXGLAND 


o  .1  '7 


L(3 


PEEFACE    TO    SECOXD    EDITION. 


The  essential  purpose  of  every  book  on  teaching  must 
^    be  to  help  teachers  in  their  actual   daily  work.     In  this 
C^   way  only  can  it  eft'ectuallj   assist   them  when  they  offer 
^    themselves  for  examination  in  that  work.     An  answer  to  a 
^     question  on  the  practice  of  teaching  is  valuable  exactly  in 
proportion  as  it  shows  that  the  writer  has  not  only  read 
about  the  subject,  but  has  assimilated  the  principles  laid 
down  in  his  text-book  and  made  them  part  of  that  living- 
thought  which  finds  expression  in  the  daily  work  of  the 
class-room.     A  competent  examiner  discriminates  at  once 
i  between  such    answers  and  those  which  are  mere  verbal 
^  reproductions   of   text-book   methods    which   have    never 
^  influenced  the  wi-iter's  practice.     It  is  therefore  hoped  that 
S   this  book  may  be  of  value  to  candidates  for  examination 
f^  T   in  the  subject  of  which  it  treats  by  helping  them  to  become 
better  teachers. 

The  treatment  is  meant  to  be  theoretical — in  the  sense 
of  setting  forth  a  consistent  and  co-ordinated  body  of 
doctrine.  Such  theory  is,  of  course,  involved  in  all  true 
practice.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  set  forth  explicit 
directions  how  to  carry  out  every  small  piece  of  teaching. 
The  model  for  a  work  on  teaching  should  not  be  a  book  on 
cookery,  with  its  detailed  recipes  directing  the  reader  how 
to  produce  by  rule  of  thumb  certain  specific  results.  After 
all,  teaching  is    dealing   Avith  souls,  and  only  mind  can 


VI  PEEFACE. 

really  influence  mind.  The  true  and  effective  way  to  train 
the  practical  teacher  is  to  imbue  him  with  broad  and 
fruitful  principles  ;  and  he  becomes  a  real  edvicative  force 
just  in  the  degree  to  which,  having  incorporated  those 
principles  in  the  living  texture  of  liis  own  thought,  he 
brings  them  to  bear  on  the  living  problems  which  every- 
day in  school  sets  him  to  solve  in  such  vast  numbers.  But 
that  the  principles  and  methods  here  set  forth  are  practical 
has  been  proved  by  the  successful  working  of  every  one  of 
them  in  school. 

At  the  same  time  I  do  not  claim  to  have  reflected  here 
the  ordinary  practice  of  the  average  English  school.  To 
have  done  so  would  have  furnished  little  of  either  stimulus 
or  suggestion.  I  have  set  up  an  ideal,  but  it  is  a  practic- 
able ideal.  It  is  true  that  small  and  insufficiently  stalled 
schools  cannot  attain  the  full  scope  of  the  application  here 
sTiggested  of  the  leading  principles.  If  they  could,  the 
book  would  be  of  little  service  to  the  larger  and  better 
equipped  schools.  But  the  principles  of  curriculum  and 
of  method  can  be  applied  to  small  schools  as  well  as  to 
large  ones,  and  it  is  the  principles  which  are  essential. 

The  main  body  of  the  book  sets  forth  what  I  believe  to 
be  a  possible  and  satisfactory  curriculum  for  primary 
schools.  But  the  methods  of  teaching  the  various  subjects 
are  also  applicable  in  principle  to  the  junior  classes  in 
secondary  schools,  though  modifications  in  detail  will  be 
demanded  by  the  wider  curriculum  and  the  greater  oppor- 
tunities for  out-of-school  culture  enjoyed  by  most  of  the 
pupils.  To  meet  the  wishes  of  many  teachers  in  such 
schools,  who  have  found  the  book  helpful,  a  chapter  on 
the  Teaching  of  Modern  Languages,  by  Mr.  F.  B.  Kirkmau, 
B.A.,  has  been  added  in  this  edition.  To  indicate  that 
i\Iodern  Languages  should  form  no  part  of  the  curriculum 
of  the  ordinary  primary  school,  this  has  been  placed  in  an 


PREFACE.  VU 

Appendix,  Were  the  book  specially  iutended  to  treat  of 
the  course  of  study  in  secondary  schools,  its  logical  place 
would  have  been  immediately  after  the  chapters  ou  tho 
teaching  of  English. 

The  Chapter  on  Geography  has  been  largely  rewritten. 
In  the  rest  of  the  book  the  changes  simply  correct  printer's 
errors. 

The  lists  of  recommended  books  have  been  deliberately 
kept  short,  and  restricted  to  books  known  by  the  -writers  of 
the  various  chapters  to  be  of  real  lielp  to  a  teacher. 

Acting  on  the  opinion  more  than  once  expressed  in  the 
book  that  a  teacher  cannot  be  really  proficient  in  every 
subject,  I  have  not  attempted  to  write  all  the  following 
chapters.  I  have  sought  the  assistance  of  friends  and 
former  pupils  whose  views  on  education  agree  with,  my 
own,  and  who  are  more  competent  to  treat  their  respective 
subjects  than  I  can  claim  to  be.  The  chapter  on  Music  is 
written  by  Mr.  E.  T.  White,  Mus.Doc,  Lecturer  on  the 
subject  in  the  Groldsmiths'  College ;  those  on  Geography 
and  Mathematics  by  Mr.  W.  P.  Welpton,  B.Sc,  Master 
of  Method  in  the  University  of  Leeds ;  that  on  Natural 
History  by  Mr.  C.  E.  Moss,  D.Sc,  Keeper  of  the  Her- 
barium at  the  University  of  Cambridge ;  that  on  ISTeedle- 
work  by  Miss  E.  L.  Melville,  M.A.,  Mistress  of  Method 
in  the  Leeds  City  Training  College.  The  chapter  on 
Geography  also  owes  much  to  Mr.  A.  Jowett,  M.Sc, 
Principal  of  the  Pupil  Teachers'  College  at  Bury,  and  the 
sections  on  Handicraft  to  Mr.  C.  E.  StancHffe,  Lecturer 
ou  the  subject  in  the  York  Training  College.  But  though, 
the  pens  are  different,  the  doctrine  is  one,  and  I  accept  as 
full  responsibility  for  the  chapters  contributed  by  others 
as  for  those  I  have  written  myself. 

I  must  further  express  my  obligations  to  my  friends — 
Dr.  Fletcher,  Vice-Principal  of  the  Cambridge  University 


VUl  PREFACE. 

Day  Training  College,  for  reading  the  proofs  of  all  the 
earlier  chapters,  and  Mr.  B.  Branford,  Divisional  Inspector 
of  Schools  under  the  London  Connty  Council,  for  reading 
those  of  the  chapter  on  Mathematics.  But  above  all,  I 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  Welpton,  whose  suggestions 
and  criticisms  have  helped  miich  in  every  part  of  the  work. 

The  last  thirty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  saw 
effort  concentrated  on  supplying  the  material  deficiencies 
in  English  schools.  The  few  years  which  have  already 
elapsed  in  the  present  centiu-y  have  been  marked  by  a 
movement  towards  a  wider  curriculum  and  more  effective 
methods  of  teacliing.  If  this  book — the  oiitcome  of  years 
of  thought  and  of  much  experience  in  the  work  of  school- 
room and  training  college — helps  that  movement  even  to  a 
small  extent,  the  labour  bestowed  on  it  will  be  amply 
rev^^arded. 

J  W, 

Leeds, 

May,  1909. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    FCNCTIOX    OF    TEACIIIXO. 


1.  Recognised  Importance  of  Education 
•2.  Doubt  as  to  Function  of  Education 
S.  Need  to  Resolve  this  Doubt    . . . 

4.  Application  of  term  '  Education  ' 

5.  Aim  of  Education 

Knowledge  and  Practice 
Knowledge  and  Virtue 

6.  Chief  Agents  of  Education 

The  Home        

The  School      

The  Church     

7.  Education  and  Life 

8.  Education  and  Teaching 

9.  Theory  and  Practice  in  Teaching 

10.  Factors  in  Teaching 

11.  Function  of  the  Teacher 


PAGK 
1 

•2 

o 

3 

4 
9 
11 
13 
14 
15 
1(5 
16 
17 
17 
IS 
19 


CHAPTER  II. 

MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

1.  Meaning  of  '  Value ' 

2.  Relative  Values  of  Education,  School,  and  Teaching 

3.  Evils  of  exaggerating  Functions  of  School  and  of  Teacliing 

4.  Test  of  Educational  Value  of  Instruction 


22 

22 
23 
24 


JC  CONTENTS. 

PAGS 

5.  Evils  of  applying  Imperfect  Tests     ...         ...         25 

'  Value  as  Discipline '           .  .         ...         ...         ...         ...  26 

'  Value  as  Knowledge  '         28 

These  Values  not  Necessarily  Connected            29 

6.  General  application  of  Test  to  School  Work            30 

Material  Utility  and  the  Curriculum        32 

Examinations...         ...         .  .          ...         ...         ...         ...  32 

7.  Special  application  of  Test  to  different  Types  of  Schools ...  33 

Limitation  of  Treatment  to  the  Primary  School            ...  3.5 

8.  Determination  of  the  Curriculum  of  the  Primary  School . . .  3o 

English  Language      ...         ...          ...         ...         ...         ...  36 

Literature,  History,  and  Social  Geography        36 

The  Natural  World 37 

Mathematics  ...          ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ..  37 

Music,  Drawing,  etc.            ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  37 

Handicraft      ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         .  .  37 

Variations  in  Emphasis  on  Different'Groups      ...         ...  38 

Influence  of  Tradition          ...         ...          ...         ...         ...  39 

9.  Utilisation  of  Special  Knowledge  of  Teachers        40 

10.  Arrangement  of  Matter  of  Instruction          42 

'  Concentration  of  Studies  '             42 

Natural  Correlation  of  Knowledge            ...         ...         ...  45 

11.  Construction  of  the  Time  Table          46 


CHAPTER  III. 

FORM    OF   INSTRUCTION. 

Test  of  the  Value  of  Teaching  48 

Perceptual  Activity 48 

Conceptual  Activity 49 

Perseverance  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         .-•         ■••  51 

Characteristics  of  Good  Method         52 

Purpose  ...         ...         ...         ...         •••         •■•         •••  53 

Economy  of  Effort 54 

Prompt  Beginning     ...         ...         ...  ..-  55 

Orderly  Process         57 

Stimulation  of  Learning      58 

Effective  Result         60 


CONTENTS.  XJ 

fACg 

3.  Maxims  of  Method        G- 

Proceed  from  the  Knowii  to  the  Unknown         62 

Proceed  from  the  Easy  to  the  More  Difficult      62 

Proceed  from  the  Concrete  to  the  Abstract         6.'i 

Proceed  from  tlie  Empirical  to  the  Rational       63 

Proceed  from  tlie  Simple  to  the  Complex            64 

Proceed  from  the  Indefinite  to  the  Definite        66 

The  Development  of  the  Child  is  Parallel  to  that  of  the 

Race          G6 

4.  Psychological  Basis  of  Method            ...           ••  07 

5.  The  Herbartian  Formal  Steps  of  Method     69 

6.  Chief  Classes  of  Lessons           72 

7.  Lessons  which  aim  at  increasing  "Elange  of  Knowledge       .  7."{ 

Steps  of  Method        74 

i.  Adjustment  of  Atteutioii         ...         ...         ...  74 

ii.  Assimilation  of  New  Matter 75 

iii.  Organisation  of  Knowledge     ...         ...         ...  15 

Modes  of  Learning  and  Teaching 76 

Direct  Study  of  Things  and  Events          76 

Oral  Teaching             ...         .  .         ...         ...         ...  80 

Learning  from  Books            ...         ...         ...         ...  82 

8.  Lessons  which  aim  at  increasing  Depth  of  Knowledge     ...  85 

Steps  of  Method        86 

i.  Apprehension  of  Problem         ...         ...         ...  87 

ii.   Suggestion  and  Testing  of  Solutions .. .         ...  87 

iii.  Formulation  of  Theory             ...         ...         ...  88 

iv.  Application  of  Theory               90 

Absence  of  Rigidity  ill  JMetliod     90 

Use  of  these  Methods           ...         .,.         90 

Modes  of  Learning  and  Teaching 91 

Questioning     ...         ...         ...         ...         91 

Experimenting           ...         ...         ...         92 

The  Essence  of  Heuristic  Methods            94 

9.  Lessons  which  aim  at  Applying  Knowledge           94 

Steps  of  Method        95 

i.  Formulation  of  Principle          95 

ii.  Form  of  Application      ...         ...         96 

iii.  Verification         ...         ...         ...         ...  96 

Modes  of  Learning  and  Teaching '-'O 


Xii  CONTENTS. 

PACB 

10.  Lessons  which  aim  at  developing  Constructive  and  Execu- 

tive Power          97 

Steps  of  Method        98 

i.  Analysis  of  Result  to  be  Attained       ...         ...  98 

ii.  Expression  and  Criticism          ...         ...         ...  98 

Modes  of  Learning  and  Teaching 99 

11.  Summary 100 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   TEACHING    OF   ENGLISU  :    PREPARATORT. 

1.  Functions  of  Language  Teaching        101 

Language  as  an  Instrument  of  Thought 101 

Language  as  an  Instrument  of  Common  Intellectual  Life  102 

Reasons  for  Teaching  the  Mother  Tongue           102 

Increased  Mastery  over  Language             103 

Cultivation  of  Interest  in  Literature        104 

2.  Foundations  of  Language  Teaching 105 

3.  Language  Teaching  in  the  Infant  School      106 

Increase  of  Power  of  Speech           ...         ...            ■         •  106 

Improvement  of  Utterance 109 

Introduction  to  Literature  .. .           Ill 

4.  The  early  Teaching  of  Reading  and  Writing          112 

Method  of  Teaching 113 

The  'Letter'  Methods        114 

The  'Alphabetic'  Method             114 

Phonetic  Methods      115 

Place  of  Phonic  Analysis     H" 

Summary         US 

CHAPTER  V. 

THK    TEACniNO    OF   ENGLISH  :    READING. 

1.  The  General  Work  of  the  Senior  School       120 

2.  Reading  to  Pupils  by  Teacher            121 

3.  The  Essence  of  Reading           ■  122 

Reading  Aloud          122 


CONTENTS. 


xm 


4.  Reading  as  Elocution    ... 

5.  Principles  of  Method  in  Teaching  Reading  ... 

i.  With  Younger  Children 

Vocal  Drill      

Silent  Reading 
Reading  Aloud 
Correcting  Mistakes ... 
Cultivating  Expres.sion 

ii.  With  Elder  Classes         

Phrasing 

Emphasis 

Modulation 

The  Reading  of  Poetry 

Amount  of  Practice  ... 

Reading  to  Hearers  without  Books 

Matter  suited  for  Reading  Aloud  ... 

6.  Reading  Books    ... 

School  and  Class  Libraries 


PAGE 

123 
125 
125 
126 
126 
126 
126 
127 
128 
129 
129 
130 
131 
133 
134 
134 
135 
138 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   TEACHING   OF   ENGLISH  :   LITERATURE. 


1.  Learning  by  Heart  and  Recitation 139 

Choice  of  Passages    ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  139 

Method  of  Learning .. .         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  140 

2.  Intensive  Study  of  Content  and  Form  of  Literature         ...  143 

3.  Exa,mple  horn  Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the  King  145 

General  Apprehension  of  Whole 146 

Detailed  Study  151 

Third  Reading  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  155 

4.  Passages  of  a  predominantly  Intellectual  Character  ...  156 

Example  from  Bacon  on  i^tcAes      156 

Example  from  Bacon  on  <S'tedtes 157 

Example  from  Stevenson's  Crabbed  Age  and  Youth       ...  158 

Other  Suitable  Material       159 

5.  A  Play  of  Shakespeare  .. .         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  159 

6.  Literature  as  illustrating  Other  Subjects     ...         ...         ...  162 


tiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

THE   TKACHIKG   OF   ENGLISH  :   COMPOSITION   AND   GRAMMAR. 

PAOK 

1.  Language  as  a  Means  of  Expression 164 

2.  Writing 165 

Metinjcl  of  Teaching 165 

Setting  of  Models      165 

Holding  the  Pencil ..•  166 

Position  of  Body        166 

Guiding  Lines            166 

Formation  of  Letters            1  <J7 

Anal3'sis  of  Forms  of  Letters          167 

Correction  of  Faults 167 

Transcription...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ■••  167 

Use  of  Pen  and  Ink  ...         ...         ...         ...         ■■•  168 

Use  of  Copy-Books 168 

Practice  in  Real  Writing     169 

Pvapid  Writing  without  Lines         169 

3.  Spelling 170 

Method  of  Teaching 170 

Transcription 171 

Dictation         171 

Oral  Spelling 172 

Word  Building           172 

Use  of  a  Dictionary 173 

4.  Function  of  Composition          173 

5.  Need  for  Specific  Training  in  Expression 175 

6.  Oral  and  Written  Expression 175 

7.  Special  Lessons  in  Language 176 

Early  Lessons 176 

The  Paragraph           177 

Use  of  an  Outline      178 

Individual  and  Imaginative  Exercises      179 

8.  Influence  of  Reading  on  Expression 180 

9.  Correction  of  Exercises  in  Composition        180 

10.  Function  of  Grammar 181 

11.  Principles  of  Teaching  Grammar        184 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   TEACIIINQ   OF    ENGLISH  :    SUMMARY. 


1.  Summary  of  Principles... 

2.  Outline  Course  of  Stud}' 

Books  Recommended 


PAGK 

185 
187 
191 


10. 
11. 


12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   TfiACHINO   OF  MUSIC. 

Function  of  Music  Teaching    ... 

Objects  of  the  Study  of  Music  in  Schools 

School  Choirs 

School  Orchestras 

School  Songs 

Singing  by  Ear 

Part  Singing 

Ear  Training 

Voice  Training 

Inhalation 

Exhalation 

Posture  of  Body 

Quality  of  Tone 
Words  in  Singing 
Reading  from  Musical  Notes  . . . 

Systems  of  Musical  Notation 

Difficulties  of  Notation 
Conducting 

Teaching  from  Notes     ... 
Conduct  of  the  Music  Lesson  . . . 
Visits  to  Concerts 
School  Course  in  Music 

First  Ifear 

Second  Year 

Third  Year 

Fourth  Year 

Fifth  Year 

Sixth  Year 

Seventh  Year 

Books  Recommended 


193 
194 
19G 
196 
197 
199 
201 
202 
203 
204 
204 
204 
205 
208 
209 
209 
210 
211 
212 
212 
213 
213 
213 
215 
216 
216 
217 
218 
219 
220 


XYl  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  TEACHING   OF   IIISTORT. 


PAOR 

1.  State  of  History  Teaching  in  England         221 

2.  Equipment  of  the  Teacher       221 

3.  Function  of  the  Study  of  History      225 

4.  Place  of  History  in  the  Primary  School       230 

5.  Preparatory  Course       ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  231 

Guiding  Principles  of  Selection      ...         ...         ...         ...  231 

An  Outline  Course     ...         ...         ...         .-.  233 

Form  of  Teaching     236 

6.  Selection  of  Matter  in  History           237 

Scope 237 

Elementary  Knowledge       ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  240 

Interest           240 

Facts  and  Ideas         241 

Unity  of  Course          243 

7.  Content  of  Course          243 

Divisions         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         •••  244 

Greece 245 

Rome 247 

Transition  to  the  Middle  Ages       250 

The  Middle  Ages       251 

Transition  to  the  Modern  World 256 

Fii-st  Modern  Period  :   The  Balance  of  Power 258 

Second  Modern  Period  :   Ideas      263 

8.  Form  of  Teaching           266 

The  Text-book           287 

Oral  Teaching            268 

Illustrations 269 

Visits  to  Objects  of  Historic  Interest       270 

Supplementary  Reading      272 

Note  Books 273 

Connection -with  Geography           274 

Time  Required           274 

Conclusion       ...         ...         ...         ...         •■■  274 

Books  Recommended           275 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


THE   TEACHING   OY   GEOGRAPHY. 

PAGE 

1 .  Function  of  Geography ...          ...          ...          ...         ...          ...  278 

2.  Relation  with  other  Subjects  .  .          ...          ...          ...          ...  283 

History            283 

Nature  8tud3' 286 

3.  Principles  governing  Selection  of  Matter     ...          ...          ...  287 

Culture  Value            287 

Subordination  of  Facts         ...         ...          ...          ...          ...  289 

Relation  to  out  of  school  Experience         .  .          ...          ...  290 

4.  The  Geography  of  the  Neighbourhood           ...          ...          ...  293 

Preliminary  Study    ...         ...         ...          ...          ...          ...  295 

Formal  Study  with  Drawing  of  Maps       ...          ...          ...  298 

Advanced  Study        302 

Social  Aspect ...         ...         ...         ...          ...          ...          ...  305 

5.  A  more  Diversified  Area           ...         ...          ...         ...          ...  308 

6.  The  British  Isles            312 

Connections  between  various  Aspects  of  a  District       . . .  313 

Separate  Study  of  Geographical  Areas     ...          ...          ...  315 

The  British  Isles  as  a  Whole          ...                      .  .          ...  320 

Industries,  Commerce,  and  Lines  of  Communication     . . .  320 

General  Notions  of  the  ^^"orld        ...          .  .          ...          ...  323 

London  as  Centre  of  National  Activity    ...          ...          ...  324 

7.  Relation  of  Courses  in  Geography  and  History       ...         ...  325 

8.  General  Treatment  of  a  Continent      ...         ...          ...          ...  330 

9.  Relation  of  Physical  and  Social  Aspects       ...         ...          ...  331 

10.  Human  Aspects  of  Geography...          ...          ...          ...          ...  333 

11.  Course  in  Physical  Geography             .  .          ...          ...          ...  335 

Relation  to  Main  Course      ...          ...          ...          ...          . .  336 

Climate  and  Vegetation       .  .         ...          ...          ...          ...  337 

12.  Detailed  Illu.stration     Iberian  Peninsula     ...          ...          ...  341 

13.  Form  of  Teaching           ...          .  .          ...          ...          ...          ..  349 

Description      ...          ...          .            ...          ...          ...          ...  350 

Text-books  and  Reading-books       .  .          ...          ...          ...  351 

Pictures,  Sketches,  etc.        ...                      ...          ...          ...  3-52 

Maps     ...          .  .          .  .         .  .          ...          ...          ...          ...  353 

Memorising     .  .            .          ...         ...         ...          ...         ...  355 

Books  Recommended            ...          ...         ...         ..           ...  356 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

TUB   TEACHING   OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


1.  Meaning  of  Nature  Study  or  Natural  History 
Natural  History  in  Schools... 
Nature  Study  and  Object  Lessons... 
Inherent  Defects  of  Object  I^essons 
Subject  Matter  of  Nature  Study   . . . 
Scope  of  Nature  Study 

2.  Functions  of  Natm-e  Study      

A  Right  Relation  to  the  Natural  World . 

Love  of  the  Country... 

A  Foiuidation  for  Science  Teaching 

An  Aid  to  Literature 

Etliical  Value 

3.  General  Method  of  Teaching 

Position  in  Time  Table 
Schools  in  Large  Cities 

4.  Training  of  Teachers  in  Nature  Study 

Need  of  Training 

Training  of  Pupil  Teachers 

In  Training  Colleges ... 

Special  Classes  for  Adult  Teachers 

Coiuitry  Excursions  ... 

Natural  History  Societies 

The  Value  of  Books 

5.  Aids  to  the  Teaching  of  Natural  History 

The  Nature  Excui'sion 

A  Model  Excursion  ... 

The  District  to  be  Utilised  FuUj- 

Interesting  Phenomena 

The  Excursion  and  Class  Work 

Specimens  Gathered ... 

Subsequent  Lessons  and  Excursions 

Maps 

List  of  Excursions     ... 
School  Gardens 


CONTENTS. 


Aquaria 
Terraria 
Nature  Diaries 
Models  and  Diagrams 

Should  be  made  by  Pupils  themselves 

Model  Models 

Drawings  and  Diagrams 
Drawing  Books  and  Note-Books 
Oral  and  Written  Descriptions 
Museums  and  Collections    . . . 

Public  Museums 

School  Museums 

Character  of  Good  School  Museums 

Living  Objects  of  First  Importance 

Collections 
8.  Correlation  with  other  Subjects 
Geography 

Handicraft,  Drawing,  and  Modelling 
English 

Mathematics  ... 
1.  Course  of  Study  .. . 

i.  For  the  Earlier  Years   ... 

First  Lesson  on  Seeds 

Second  Lesson 

Third  Lesson  ... 

Fourth  Lesson 

Succeeding  Lessons  ... 

Lessons  on  Other  Subjects  . . . 

Other  Courses 
ii.  For  the  Litermediate  Years     ... 

Observations  on  the  Potato 

Experiments  with  the  Potato 

Other  Work 

iii.  For  the  Later  Years 

Life  History  of  the  Little  Celandine 

Growth  Movements  of  the  Dandelion 

The  Ripe  Fruits         

Other  Work 

Books  Recommended 


XX 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   TEACHING    OF   MATHEMATICS. 


14 


Mathematics  in  Relation  to  Life 

Mathematics  in  the  Primary  School 

Mathematics  in  Child  Life  ... 
Mathematics  as  a  Mental  Discipline... 

The  Training  of  a  Critical  Power  ... 

Suitability  of  Mathematics  to  train  Critical  Power 

Interest  of  Pupils  in  Intellectual  Conquest 
Connection  between  Arithmetic  and  Geometry 
Development  of  Arithmetic  from  Empiric  to  Rational 
The  Aim  of  Empiric  Stage 
Measurement 

Number 

Units 

Numeration     ... 

Notation 
Addition  and  Subtraction 
Multiplication  and  Division     ... 
Systematising  and  Memorising 

Addition  and  Subtraction   ... 

Multiplication  and  Division 

Measures  of  Length,  Weight,  Money,  and  Time 
Reduction  from  one  Unit  to  Another 
Written  Language  of  Arithmetic 

Subtraction     ... 

Multiplication  

Division 

Problems 
Drill  in  Mental  and  Written  Arithmetic     ..', 
Practical  Arithmetic     ... 

Measurement  of  Length 

Drawing  of  Plans  and  Outlines  to  Scale  ... 

Measurements  in  Weight  and  Cubical  Capacity 

Measurements  in  Money 
Aim  of  Rational  Stage  ... 

The  Progress  to  Symbols     ...         ...         

The  Progress  in  Practical  Measurement 


CONTENTS.  xxi 


PAOK. 


1/).  Tlic  relation  between  Quantity,  Number,  and  Unit         ...     4.3S 

16.  The  Decimal  Notation 440 

The  Metric  S3'stom ..     441 

Approximation.s         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     442 

Development  of  Numeration  ami  Notation        ...         ...     442 

17.  Fractions...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     446 

Rational  Idea  of  Fractions  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     445 

Addition  and  Subtraction  of  Fraction.s    ...         ...         ...     447 

Multiplication  of  Fractions...         ...         ...         ...         ...     44,^} 

Division  of  Fractions  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     44^ 

Generalised  Forms     ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     443 

18.  Ratio,  Proportion  and  Equations       ...         ...         ...         ...     449 

19.  Percentages         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     45^ 

20.  General  Character  of  the  Teaching    ...         ...         ...         ...     452 

21.  Practical  Arithmetic  in  the  Rational  Stage...         ...         ...     454 

(Jeneral  Character     ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     455 

Measurement  of  Length       ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     455 

Measurement  of  Area  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     455 

Measurement  of  Volume      ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  457 

Measurement  of  Density      ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  4g'7 

Measurement  of  Force         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  45-7 

Apparatus       ...         ...         ...         ...  ..         ...         ...  453 

22.  The  Universal  Nature  of  Geometry...         ...         ...         ...  453 

23.  The  History  of  the  Development  of  Geometry       459 

Geometry  in  Egypt — ^The  Age  of  Empiricism    ...         ...  459 

The  Influence  of  the  Greeks — The  Age  of  Speculation...  460 

24.  The  Value  of  Geometry  in  Life         ...         ...         ...         ...  4GI 

25.  Growth  of  Geometrical  Ideas  in  the  Mind  ...         ...         ...  462 

The  Influence  of  Social  Environment       ...         ...         ...  462 

The  Influence  of  School  Instruction         ...         ...         ...  463 

26.  Empiric  Factor  in  the  Teaching  of  Geometry         ...         ...  465 

Character  of  the  Teaching  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  465 

The  Nature  of  the  Course   ...         466 

First  Illustration — The  Circle        466 

Second  Illustration — The  Isosceles  Triangle       ...  ...  468 

Third  Illustration — The  Triangle 469 

27.  The  Rational  Factor  in  the  Teaching  of  Geometry  ...  470 

The  Nature  of  Proof 470 

The  Definitions  ...         ...         ...  ...  472 


XXU  CONTENTS. 

The  Axioms    ... 

Illustration  of  the  Teaching  of  Axioms,  Euclid  I 

Tlie  Propositions 

28.  The  Spirit  of  the  Teaching      

Books  Recommended 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   TEACHING   OF  FORM. 

1.  Form  as  a  Mode  of  Expressing  Ideas 

2.  The  Appreliension  of  Form 

3.  Need  for  Training  in  Form 

4.  Qualities  inseparable  from  Form 

5.  Aesthetic  Aspect  of  Form 

6.  General  Functions  of  Ti'aining  in  Form 

7.  The  development  of  Manipulative  Skill 

Perception  and  Skill 

Physiological  and  Psychological  Importance  of  Physical 

Activities    ... 
Social  Importance  of  Developing  Skill     ... 

8.  Choice  of  Means  for  Training  Skill    ... 

Inherent  Possibility  of  Development 

Adaptation  to  Motor  Development  

Value  of  Drawing  and  Modelling  ... 
Carving  in  Wood 
Educative  Handicraft 

9.  Sunimary  of  General  Principles  of  Method 

10.  Qualifications  of  the  Teacher  ... 

11.  General  Nature  of  Course  in  Modelling  and  Drawing 

General  Order  of  Study       

General  Contents  of  Course  

General  Method  of  Teaching  

12.  Art  Work  in  English  Primary  Schools 

13.  Early  Course  in  Modelling  and  Drawing 

First  Steps  in  Modelling 

Di'awing  in  Mass 
Apprehension  of  Differences 

14.  Brush  Drawing  and  Outline  Drawing 


CONTENTS.  Xxiii 

15.  Course  in  Nature  Drawing      gj2 

16.  Principles  of  Perspective          g23 

17.  Course  in  Conventional  Art 525 

Ambidexterity           gjg 

Designs            516 

Modelling  Art  Forms           51Y 

18.  Correlation  with  other  Subjects  of  Study 518 

19.  Carving  in  Wood           5lg 

20.  Handicraft  in  Paper  and  Cardboard 519 

Mode  of  Teaching      529 

Drawings         529 

21.  Handicraft  in  Wood      5.2q 

Nature  of  Wood-work          52q 

Correlation  with  Natural  History             522 

Principles  of  Gradation        .  .  coo 

Tools ^'^^ 

Skill     

Drawing  and  Planning         co^ 

Models  

Woodwork  in  Rural  Schools 


Books  Recommended 


522 
523 


22.  Handicraft  in  Metal      ZZt 


528 


23.  The  Teacher  of  Handicraft      -ng 

24.  School  Gardens _^- 


529 
530 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK. 

1.  Purpose  of  Teaching  Needlework      ^  532 

2.  Training  in  Skill  '*  goi 

Ivinds  of  Skill  Necessary     '"  532 

Means  of  Training  Skill       eon 

3.  Training  of  PracticalJudgment  and  Initiative       534 

Progressive  Nature  of  the  Mode  of  Teaching     ...         .".*.  535 

Nature  of  the  Necessary  Exercises  537 

Value  of  Self-teaching  53^ 

4.  The  Teaching  of  the  Chief  Stitches  and  their  Api^lication  .  639 

Hemming        539 


OONTKNTS. 


Seaming  and  Kiiniiing 
The  arrangement  of  Fells    ... 
Preparatory  Exercises  for  (Jarinents 
Herring-boning 
Button-holes   ... 
The  Gathering  Exercise 
T).  The  Cutting-out  and  Making  of  Garments 
Scheme  of  Garments ... 
Drafting  of  Patterns... 
Making  of  Garments 

6.  The  Use  of  Sewing  ^Machines  ... 

7.  Practical  Repair  of  Clotliing    ... 

Suitable  Exercises 

8.  Ivnitting   ... 

9.  Conclusion 

Books  Recommended 


PAGE 

541 
541 
542 
543 
545 
546 
547 
547 
547 
549 
550 
551 
552 
553 
554 
556 


APPENDIX. 


THE   TKAnilNO    OF   IMODERX   L.VNOU.^GES. 


1.  Objects  of  Instruction  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  ...  557 

(i )  A  Means  of  Literary  Culture ...  ...  ...  ...  558 

(ii)  A  Source  of  Information         ...  ...  ...  ...  560 

(iii)  A  ]\Ieans  of  Connnunication    ...  ...         ...  ...  561 

(iv)  A  Means  of  Promoting  International  (4ood-will  ...  562 

(v)  A  Means  of  Literary  Di.'icipline         ...  ...  ...  564 

(vi)  Sunnnary  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  568 

2.  Relative  Importance  f)f  tlio  Kinds  of  Linguistic  Attain- 

ment    ...         ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  569 

3.  Choice  of  Subject-matter  ...  ...         ...         ...  ...  570 


IT. 


571 


CONTKNTS. 

The  Ci)iu'se  of  Instruction        

Divided  into  Literary  and  Linguistic        57I 

Poswibility  of  Instruction  in  Subject-matter       5'jo 

The  Art  of  Translation  in  the  Course       578 

The  Course  in  Relation  to  Age       gyg 

Relative  Place  of  French,  German,  etc 

The  Course  Correlated 


580 

583 


5.  Mctliod  of  Instruction  in  the  Linguistic  Course     583 

Beginner's  Course  :  Pronunciation  and  Spelling  o8-4 

"  "  Vocabulary     ...         ...         .._  (jqq 

The  Reader  as  Centre  :  Interpretation 6O3 

"  !)  Vocabulary  Practice     6I9 

)>  >)  Text  Questions g25 

))  !>  C4rammar  Practice         627 

7>  :,  Written  Work 642 

M  Order  of  Stejis  in  Lesson  ...  645 

Home-work     ...  r-ia 

040 

Accessories      ...         ...  ...         ...  ou- 

6.  Method  in  the  Literary  Course  g^y 

7.  Method  of  Teaching  Tran.slation  as  a  Fine  Art 650 

Books  Recommended  ...         ...         ...  a-i 

Addendum  :  An  Experiment  in  Research  657 

IXDEX   


6ti3 


CHAPTER     1 


GENEllAL    FUNCTION    OF    TEACHING. 

I.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  movements  of  the  last 
ceutviry  lias  been  the  increased  importance 
Recognised  attached  in  the  public  mind  to  education, 
of  Education.  I^arge  sums  are  expended  by  the  State  and 
by  local  authorities  in  supplying  and  main- 
taining schools,  and  in  securing  the  services  of  comjjetent 
teachers.  Old-fashioned  people,  indeed,  are  apt  to  grumble 
as  expenditure  on  the  machinery  of  education  grows  yearly 
heavier,  but  such  grumblings  become  more  and  more  in- 
frequent as  the  new  fashion  of  thought  spreads,  and  those 
who  are  not  converted  at  least  hold  their  peace  or  give 
vent  to  their  dissatisfaction  only  in  private. 

Meanwhile,  a  growing  tendency  is  observable  in  the  public 
press  and  on  public  platforms  to  regar^l  education  as  a 
panacea  for  all  social  and  economic  ills.  If  our  markets 
seem  to  be  endangered  by  the  enterprise  of  a  foreign 
nation,  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  nation  in  question  has 
a  system  of  technical  schools  and  colleges  more  comj)lete 
and  better  organised  than  our  own.  If  we  are  not  as 
immediately  successful  in  war  as  patriotism  vrould  desire, 
Cassandra  voices  are  heard  on  every  hand  warning  us  that 
every wiiere  amongst  us  are  to  be  seen  signs  of  pliysical 

PR.  TG.  1 


2  GENERAL    FUNCTION    OP    TEACHING. 

deterioration,  aucl  calling  for  compulsory  systems  of  drill 
and  other  forms  of  physical  training,  and  often  for  the 
public  feeding  of  the  children,  to  enable  them  to  profit 
both  by  this  and  by  what  is  more  commonly  understood 
by  '  schooling.' 

As  the  demand  for  the  spread  of  tl;e  franchise  l)ecomes 
more  and  more  irresistible,  fears  aiise  lest  the  newly  en- 
franchised voters  should  use  their  power  un-wisely,  and 
statesmen  feel  the  need  "to  educate  our  masters."  In 
these  and  other  ways  the  fashionable  creed  is  brought 
home  to  us,  that  socially  and  politically  education  is  the 
one  thing  needful. 

2.  But  despite  all  this  current  enthusiasm  and  still  more 

current  eloquence,  there  seems  to  be  no  clear 
Doubt  as  to  insight  into  the  nature  of  this  supreme  good 
Education.         w  hich  all  agree  in  demanding.     It  is  as  true 

now^-a-days  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Aristotle 
that  "there  is  no  agreement  as  to  w^hat  the  young  should 
learn,  either  with  a  view  to  the  production  of  goodness  or 
the  best  life,  nor  is  it  settled  whether  education  ought  to 
be  directed  mainly  to  the  culture  of  the  intellect  or  to  the 
development  of  character.  Nor  is  the  perplexity  removed 
y  an  examination  of  the  actual  education  we  see  around 
us,  for  there  is  no  certainty  whether  education  should  be  a 
training  in  what  is  merely  useful  as  a  means  of  livelihood, 
or  in  what  tends  to  promote  goodness,  or  in  the  disciplinary 
studies.  Each  of  these  views  has  some  supporters. 
Further,  even  amongst  those  who  accept  goodness  and 
character  as  the  end  there  is  no  agreement  as  to  the  right 
means  to  adopt.  For  at  the  very  outset  there  is  a  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  what  kind  of  goodness  is  most  worthy  of 
esteem,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  training  necessary  for  its  development."' 

»   l'oliti,:.s,  V.  1. 


GENERAL  FUNCTION  OF  TEACHING.  3 

3.  Amidst  all  the  curreut  coufusiou  there  ruus  indeed 

the  vague  and  general  notion  that  education 
Need  to  Resolve  should  be,  in  some  way,  a  preparation  for* 
life,  or,  as  Mr.  H.  Spencer  puts  it,  "  for  com- 
plete living."  Such  a  statement  wins  acceptance  by  its 
very  vagueness  and  generality,  but  it  is  obviously  inadequate 
as  a  guide  to  those  who  are  to  amdertake  in  any  special 
Avay  the  actual  work  of  education,  and  who  wish  to  set 
about  that  work  not  in  a  mechanical  manner,  rviled  by 
mere  tradition,  but  as  intelligent  "  artists  in  the  souls  of 
children."  They  feel  it  needful  to  be  able  to  give  definite 
and  well-grounded  answers  to  such  questions  as,  What  iy 
the  aim  of  education  ?  What  do  we  wish  to  accomplish 
when  we  deliberately  set  ourselves  to  mould  and  direct  the 
lives  of  the  young  ?  Why  does  the  State  enforce  schooling 
and  pay  so  heavy  a  price  to  have  its  childi-en  brought  under 
school  influence?  What  has  the  community  a  right  to 
expect  as  the  result  of  its  sacrifices  and  regulations  ? 
What  should  parents  require  the  school  to  do  for  their 
childi'en  ? 

Such  inquiries  will  be  taken  by  many  people  to  be 
equivalent  to  each  other,  for  modern  habits  of  speech  tend 
more  and  more  to  limit  education  to  schooling.  But  in 
reality  they  are  manifold,  and  involve  the  relations  of 
home,  school,  and  State  as  instruments  of  education,  as 
well  as  the  more  fundamental  question  of  the  nature  of 
the  end  which  all  their  elfoi'ts  are  bent  to  realise.  It  is 
with  this  more  fundamental  question  we  are  now  concerned. 

4.  What  then  is  the  aim  of  education,  and  what  shall  be 

included  under  the  term  ?    In  a  sense,  every =- 
Application        thing   which    helps    to  mould  and   form   a 
'  Education.'       human  hfe  is  part  of  its  education.     In  this 

widest  application  physical  influences,  such 
as    climate    and    material   surroundings,    are   agents    of 


4  GENERAL    FUNCTION    OF    TEACHINQ. 

education,  as  well  as  everythiug  in  the  social  eiiviroument. 
Who  can  deny  the  formative  influence  of  city  or 
country  life,  of  social  position,  of  wealth  or  poverty,  of 
refinement  or  coarseness  ?  Everything  which  comes  into 
one's  life  influences  it  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  though 
in  many  cases,  of  course,  the  influence  is  too  slight  to  be 
traced. 

It  is  not,  however,  usual  to  speak  of  every  formative 
influence  as  educative,  and  it  will  be  necessary  for  our 
purpose  to  limit  the  term  to  influences  which  are  inten- 
tionally brought  to  bear  upon  the  individual  by  those  who 
are  in  a  position  superior  in  some  respects  to  his  own. 
Even  so  it  will  be  seen  that  the  scope  of  the  term  is  a  wide 
one  and  will  include  not  only  the  efforts  of  the  school,  but 
those  of  the  home — indefinite  and  semi-conscious  as  these 
often  are — and  the  regulation  of  life  by  the  State  and  by 
the  narrower  social  community  in  Avhich  the  individual's  life 
is  passed,  which  by  example,  precept,  and  in  the  last  re- 
sort compulsion,  enforce  their  views  of  life  and  conduct 
upon  their  members.  Nor  must  we  omit  the  potent  influence 
of  the  Church,  including  under  that  name  every  specially 
religious  organisation.  The  degrees  in  which  the  moulding 
of  the  individual  by  these  agencies  is  intentional  of  course 
varies  enormously  both  as  a  whole  and  in  detail.  But 
wherever  any  element  of  intention  is  present  the  influence 
should  be  regarded  as  educative. 

5.  It   is   evident   that   education   as   thus  defined  will 
include  influences  R'ood,  bad,  and  indifferent. 
Edu^cation  ^^^    some  of  those  thus  accepted    as    edu- 

cators may  deliberately  exert  an  evil  influence 
and  of  set  purpose  train  and  incite  to  wrong,  whilst  a  much 
larger  number  will  do  ill  even  though  meaning  to  do  well, 
either  from  a  misapprehension  of  what  is  really  good,  or 
from  want  of  power  to  organise  and  direct  the  means  to 


GENERAL    FUNCTION    OF    TEACHTNO.  6 

(lie  attainment  of  the  perceived  good.  Hence  Ave  are  led 
back  to  the  I'ool  question:  At  what  should  education 
aim  ?  and  then  to  the  dependent  query :  By  what 
organisation  of  means  can  it  attain  its  end  ? 

Now  to  the  former  of  these  two  inquiries  many  answers 
have  been  given  and  are  still  given.  But  they  all  fall 
under  two  general  classes — the  individualistic  and  the 
^cial.  Those  who  look  upon  education  as  primai-ily,  if 
not  exclusively,  for  the  benefit  of  the  individual  to  be 
educated,  give  as  their  answer  some  form  of  preparation 
for  adult  life  which  will  make  that  individual  life  a  more 
desirable  one  than  it  would  otherwise  be.  According  to 
theii"  view  of  what  makes  life  desirable  they  lay  most  stress 
on  the  development  of  goodness,  on  the  training  of 
intellectual  power,  or  on  the  acquirement  of  some  form 
of  aptitude  which  will  be  of  direct  service  in  earning  a 
livelihood.  And  obviously  the  social  position  and  degree 
of  culture  of  the  pai-ents  will  largely  determine  which  of 
these  is  regarded  by  them  as  the  most  important.  -Simi- 
larly, the  State  and  the  smaller  local  communities  are  apt 
to  regard  each  of  these  ends  as  most  appropriate  to  a 
certain  soci;il  class  and  most  desirable  for  the  members  of 
that  class. 

On  the  other  hand  those  who  look  upon  education  as 
primarily  for  the  good  of  the  State,  or  of  the  community, 
will  give  as  their  answer  that  it  should  render  those  who  \ 
are  educated  more  fitted  to  perform  well  some  function  in 
the  commimity,  should  discover  what  specific  function  each 
individual  is  best  fitted  to  fulfil,  and  should  train  him 
for  that.  Here,  too,  emphasis  may  be  laid  on  goodness^ 
intellect,  or  industrial  skill  as  the  most  valuable  in  general 
or  for  certain  classes  of  the  community. 

Thus  the  results  of  the  two  answers  may  concide  to  a 
laro-e  extent  in  the  comniunitv  as  a  whole.     But  while  the 


6  GENERAT,    FUNCTION    OF    TEACHINa. 

former  regards  the  social  organisation  mainly  as  a  means 
for  the  advancement  of  the  individual,  the  latter  cares 
nothing  for  the  individual  as  such,  and  only  requires  that 
the  work  of  the  community  shall  be  well  done.  While,  for 
example,  the  former  would  found  scholarships  and  set 
up  "  the  ladder  from  the  elementary  school  to  the  univer- 
sity," the  latter  would  care  little  or  nothing  for  such  aids 
to  the  talents  of  the  poor.  So  long  as  a  sufficient  number 
of  citizens  were  found  able  to  till  efficiently  the  higher 
walks  of  intellectual,  social,  and  industrial  life,  the  cost  of 
whose  training  could  be  borne  l)y  their  families,  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole  would  not  feel  called  upon  to  seek  out 
yet  others  to  train  for  similar  pursuits  at  the  general  cost. 
Its  aim  would  rather  be  to  limit  the  number  of  those 
trained  for  the  higher  and  more  intellectual  occupations  by 
the  number  of  probable  vacancies  in  such  pursuits. 

Each  of  these  views  can  be  traced  in  the  past.  In  its 
crudest  form  education  consisted  in  training  the  child  in  the 
pursuits — hunting,  fishing,  fighting,  etc. — necessary  to  en- 
able him  to  maintain  himself  and  his  family  when  he  should 
reach  adult  life.  As  occupations  became  more  specialised 
this  training  took  the  general  form  of  teaching  the  boy 
the  craft  or  trade  of  his  father  and  the  girl  the  household 
duties  performed  by  the  mother. 

But  as  communities  became  more  organised  the  con- 
ception of  the  child  as  the  future  citizen  became  dominant, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  the  idea  that  education  is  intended 
to  train  loyal  and  useful  citizens  overshadowed  the  con- 
ception that  it  is  a  means  of  benefiting  the  individual. 
This  idea  was  carried  out  most  fully  in  Sparta,  where  the 
family  was  practically  abolished  and  the  State  took  the 
training  of  its  yoinig  citizens  entirely  into  its  own  hands. 
Both  Plato  and  Aristotle  were  much  influenced  by  this 
view,  but  they  raised  it  to  a  higher  level  by  regarding  the 


aENERAIi    FUNCTION    OF    TEACHINa.  7 

wliole  organisation  of  the  State  as  a  means  for  the  perfect 
deveki2:»ment  of  the  citizen  as  well  as  the  education  of  the 
individual  as  a  means  to  the  perfection  of  the  State.  Thus 
in  these  philosophers  we  find  a  nice  balancing  of  the 
claims  of  individual  and  community. 

In  the  mediaeval  Church  the  social  view  was  predomi- 
nant. Education  was  regarded  as  a  means  of  training 
good  Christians  who  would  he  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  Nevertheless,  in  that  it  substituted  the  spiritual 
for  the  temporal  world  it  of  necessity  concerned  itself  with 
the  personal  or  individual  side  of  life.  But  at  the  same 
time  its  method  of  education  was  admiraldy  adapted  to 
train  up  a  body  of  men  who  would  continue  its  organisa- 
tion and  prosecute  its  aims. 

Concurrently  with  this  ecclesiastical  system  of  education, 
with  its  strongly  marked  social  tone,  was  that  of  chivalry, 
in  which  the  sons  of  a  favoured  few  were  trained  in  the 
castles  of  the  nobles.  This  was  essentially  individualistic 
in  its  conception  :  it  aimed  at  making  the  perfect  knight, 
whose  characteristic  virtues  of  courage  and  courtesy  were 
essentially  personal. 

It  must  be  noted  that  Plato  proposed  a  formal  and 
systematic  education,  regulated  by  the  State,  only  for  the 
select  few.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  was,  apparently, 
to  be  left  to  the  practical  and  industrial  training  which 
inight  be  given  in  the  family.  This  was,  to  varying 
degrees,  the  actual  practice  of  Europe  till  recent  days. 
With  an  ignorant  and  debased  peasantry  such  an  educa- 
tion was  all  too  often  imperfect  industrially  and  bad 
intellectually  and  morally.  It  was  the  special  work  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  under  the  influence  of  Pestalozzi  in 
Switzerland,  of  Bell  and  Lancaster  in  England,  and  of 
others  of  like  sympathies,  to  promote  a  more  definite  and 
intentional  training  of  the  childx'en  of  the  poor,  and,  as  a 


8  GENERAL  FUNCTION  OF  TRACHINO. 

uecessary  means,  to  advocate  the  establishment  and  organi- 
sation of  schools  by  the  State.  But  the  very  success  of 
their  efforts,  by  enormously  increasing  the  number  of 
children  receiving  schooling,  naturally  led  to  the  gradual 
weakening  of  the  social  idea  of  the  purpose  of  education 
and  the  corresponding  increase  in  strength  of  the  opinion 
that  it  is  primarily  an  individual  benefit.  For  in  a  modern 
State  the  nmnbers  are  too  large,  and  the  social  and  in- 
dustrial organisation  is  too  complex,  for  the  State  to 
attempt  any  apportionment  of  occupation  in  accordance 
with  ability.  And,  further,  the  advantage  to  the  State  of 
the  education  of  any  particular  individual  is  not  obvioixs. 
The  current  individualistic  philosophy  of  the  eighteenth 
and  early  nineteenth  centuries  made  for  the  same  results, 
so  that  the  individualistic  conception  is  probalily  now  the 
more  prevalent. 

^  Such  a  conception  errs  rather  negatively  than  positively. 
For  a  child  is  a  human  being,  and  as  sixch  he  is  essentially 
an  individual.  But  modern  thought  is  more  and  moi-e 
tending  to  emphasise  that  every  individual  is  what  he  is 
through  his  interaction  with  his  surroundings,  physical 
and  social.  As  a  social  being  he  enters  into  all  sorts  of 
relations  with  other  liiinian  beings,  and  with  the  world  in 
general,  and  as  he  grows  older  the  range  and  scope  of 
these  relations  increase.  Cut  away  the  social  side  of  a 
person  and  the  individual  is  reduced  to  an  empty  nothing. 
His  development  ami  success  in  life  depend  upon  the 
fulness  and  Avisdom  with  Avhicli  he  enters  into  suitable 
relations  with  the  world  in  which  he  finds  himself.  To  do 
this  implies  that  he  understands  these  relations  and  can 
interpret  them  liberally  and  generously.  Only  by  under- 
standing, for  example,  the  relations  of  the  physical  world 
to  his  purposes  can  he  avail  himself  of  physical  means. 
Every  discovery  in  tlie  mechanical  arts  is  an  illustration  of 


GENKTCAT,    FTTNOTTOK    OF    TEACHING.  V 

this.  Understanding  the  power  and  activity  of  steam  and 
seeing  Iioav  to  contrive  by  certain  forms  of  an-anging 
matter  to  utilise  this  power  enabled  man  to  invent  the 
steam-engine.  Similai'ly,  only  by  imderstanding  the 
relations  of  the  social  world  and  unifying  his  actions  with 
those  relations  can  one  seciire  the  direct  or  indirect  co- 
operation of  his  fellows.  It  is  needless  to  labour  the 
point,  which  seems  sufficiently  obvious.  Only  Ijy  grasping 
clearly  that  life  is  a  system  of  relations,  and  that  every 
such  relation  has,  as  its  two  terms,  the  individual  on  the 
one  hand  and  on  the  other  some  portion  of  the  physical  or 
human  world  about  him.  can  we  harmonise  the  claims  of 
individual  and  social  considerations  to  determine  life,  and 
consequently  to  be  operative  in  our  conception  of  the 
purpose  of  education. 

Governed  by  this  conception,  we  shall  say  that  the 
purpose  of  education  should  be  to  lead  the  child  into  the 
fullest,  truest,  noblest,  and  most  fruitful  relations  of  which 
he  is  capable  with  the  world  in  which  he  lives. 

Such  relations  may  be  broadly  classified  as  theoretical 

and  practical — those  of  knowledge  and  those 

Knowledge  ^  action.     The  distinction  between  knowing 

and  Practice.  '^ 

and  doing   is   frequently   drawn    somewhat 

rigidly  in  modern  thought,  with  the  result  that  their 
mutual  dependence  is  overlooked,  and  theory  and  practice 
are  set  in  antithesis  to  each  other.  This  is  a  result  of 
the  predominantly  intellectual  cast  of  philosophic  thought 
for  the  last  two  centuries.  Its  consequences  in  education 
are  serious^knowledge  is  often  confounded  with  erudition, 
and  practice  with  rule-of-thumb  aptitude.  In  old  G-reek 
thought  the  distinction  was  not  exaggerated  into  a 
separation.  With  Socrates,  knowledge  was  the  power  by 
which  things  are  done,  and  included  not  only  the  under- 
standing  how  to  do  them,  but  the  skill  to   apply    that 


10  GBNKRAL  FUNCTION  OF  TEACHING, 

understanding.  Happily,  thinkers  are  again  seeing  that 
this  is  the  truer  vieAv  of  actual  human  life.  Know- 
ledge is  the  power  of  dealing  effectively  with  situations, 
and  is  not  complete  tmless  the  '  how '  is  added  to  the 
'why.'  As  Gruyau  puts  it:  "To  know  is  to  be  led  as  a 
whole  to  learn  more  and  to  be  able  to  do  niore."^ 

Of  course  the  '  situation '  may  be  theoretical  or  prac- 
tical. Every  moment  of  one's  waking  and  conscious  life 
finds  one  in  a  situation  requiring  to  be  dealt  with  by 
some  fcn-m  of  mental  or  physical  activity.  Experience,  in- 
deed, is  nothing  but  a  series  of  situations  and  the  dealing 
with  them.  Thus,  one  may  deal  with  a  situation  by  decid- 
ing on  a  line  of  conduct  and  then  steadfastly  carrying  it 
out ;  by  inventing  some  machine  or  applying  some  material 
aptitude  ;  by  understanding  the  nature  and  cause  of  natural 
phenomena ;  hj  appreciating  references  to  history  or  to 
literature ;  by  entering  into  the  spirit  of  a  work  of  art. 
But  whatever  the  situation  may  be,  the  power  of  dealing 
with  it  effectively  includes  not  only  a  set  of  ideas  which,  as 
it  were,  reflect  its  nature,  but  also  a  system  of  ideas  of  the 
kind  of  activity  which  will  enable  us  to  extract  from  it  all 
the  advantage  it  is  capable  of  yielding.  Without  this 
there  is  no  effective  knowledge. 

When  this  fuller  view  of  knowledge  is  taken,  the  dispute 
whether  '  knowledge  '  or  '  skill '  should  be  the  result  aimed 
at  in  education  is  seen  to  be  settled.  To  make  either  the 
sole  aim  is  to  render  it  impossible  that  even  the  half 
aimed  at  should  be  attained.  Man's  knowledge  began  in 
his  practical  needs,  and  every  advance  in  knowledge  has  a 
practical  bearing  on  life,  either  on  the  material  or  on  the 
mental  side.  To  enter  into  any  piece  of  knowledge  is  to 
apprehend  this  liearing,  and  such  apprehension  can  only 
result  from  the  actual  working  it  out  in  practice. 
^  Education  and  Ileredi/t/,  p.  28(5. 


OENBEAL  FUNCTION  OF  TEAOHINa.  11 

Moreover,  the  answer  to  the  question  wliether  knowledge 
or  virtue  is  the  ultimate  eud  of  education  is 
Knowledge  niade  easier.  The  highest  knowledge  is  know- 
ledge of  how  to  deal  with  life  itself,  as  distinct 
from  its  trappings  and  accessories.  Such  knowledge  the 
Grreeks  called  '  Wisdom,'  and  Wisdom  they  placed  first  of 
the  cardinal  virtues,  the  others  being  those  qualities  which 
enable  a  man  to  carry  out  without  flinching,  and  with  due 
regard  to  the  rights  of  others,  a  line  of  conduct  seen  to  l>e 
wise.  At  the  same  time,  as  has  been  said,  knowledge  in- 
cluded practice,  and  so  might  broadly  be  spoken  of  as 
covering  the  more  obviously  active  qualities  of  the  will,  as 
well  as  those  more  contemplative  attributes  of  the  intellect 
which  '  knowledge '  or  '  wisdom '  more  directly  suggests.  So 
we  see  what  Socrates  meant  by  his  identification  of  know- 
ledge and  virtue.  For  knowledge  or  wisdom  was  not 
something  merely  existing  in  the  mind,  but  was  the  actual 
dealing  with  the  important  things  of  life  in  a  masterly 
way.  And  this  implied  persistence  and  effort,  or,  as  we 
should  say,  '  Will.'  Now  the  term  '  virtue '  to  the  Greek 
denoted  the  characteristic  excellence  of  anything  said  to 
possess  it.  So  that  human  virtue  was  excellence  in  living 
a  human  life  in  every  one  of  its  relations.  Hence,  virtue 
and  knowledge  approach  so  near  each  other  as  to  be  practi- 
cally indistinguishable. 

It  is  equally  evident,  however,  that  this  identification 
cannot  be  made  if  the  narrower  and  more  popular  mean- 
ino-s  be  given  to  '  virtue  '  and  '  knowledge  '  and  '  practice.' 
Hence  we  have  the  disputes  already  referred  to  as  to  which 
of  these  is  the  ultimate  aim  of  education.  On  the  view 
wo  have  taken  each  by  itself  is  inadequate.  To  say  that 
"Morality  is  the  aim  of  education,"  or  that  "The  aim  of 
education  is  the  development  of  a  good  character,"  is  either 
to  limit  tlie  scope  of  education,  or  to  extend  the  meaning  of 


12  GENERAL  FUNCTION  OF  TEACHING. 

'  rtiorality '  and  '  G^ood  character '  bevond  the  usual 
modern  acceptation.  Yet  more  unfortunate  is  it  to  make 
the  aim  of  education  the  acquirement  of  '  knowledge ' 
in  the  very  common  modern  sense  of  remembered  infor- 
mation, for  that  is  to  divorce  the  educative  process 
from  the  largest  and  most  important  parts  of  the  life 
for  which  it  has  to  prepare.  Lastly,  to  make  mere 
unintelligent  practice  the  aim  is  to  reduce  man  to  a  piece 
of  machinery  and  to  negate  all  the  higher  parts  of  his 
nature. 

This  is  well  put  by  Mr.  Dodwell  in  an  article  on  'Matthew 
Arnold  as  a  Social  Reformer.'  He  says :  "  It  is  of  course  a 
very  ancient  truism  that  a  just  morality  is  the  basis  of  all 
healthy  social  life.  But  the  true  ethical  ideal  can  only  be 
conceived  by  the  man  of  well-balanced,  well-developed 
mind ;  the  true  morality  can  therefore  only  be  fitly  con- 
ceived of,  and  indeed  practised,  by  a  mind  whose  aims  are 
other  than  purely  moral.  To  a  lofty  conception  of  conduct 
must  be  added  the  love  of  beauty,  the  love  of  knowledge, 
the  love  of  social  life ;  for  we  can  agree  to  take  as  our  ideal 
neither  the  hermit's,  because  we  believe  that  man  may  find 
a  higher  life  in  society  than  in  the  desert  ;  nor  the  ideal  of 
the  ignorant  and  uninstructed,  because  the  intellect  and 
its  products  are  the  most  truly  characteristic  of  man's 
power  and  works  ;  nor  the  ideal  of  the  Philistine,  because 
civilisation,  that  quality  which  separates  us  from  the 
savage,  lies  so  greatly  in  the  educated  sense  of  beauty  in 
all  its  possible  forms.  It  is  essential  that  all  these  should 
be  in  mutual  subordination :  our  sense  of  beauty  and  good 
manners  must  not  lead  us  into  iniwoi-thy  actions  ;  and  oiu- 
sense  of  right,  also,  must  be  so  subtly  tempered  as  never 
to  produce  unlovely  deeds."' 

Or,  as  Lord  Avebury  briefly  sums  it  up :  "  There  are 
'  M(icmillan'8  Magazine,  Nov.  190.1,  pj).  57-8. 


QRNKRAL    I'U  NOTION    OF    TEACHING.  13 

three  great  questions  wliicii  iu  life  we  have  over  and  over 
again  to  answer.  Is  it  right  or  wrong?  Is  is  true  or 
false?  Is  it  beautiful  or  ugly?  Our  education  ought  to 
help  us  to  answer  these  questions." ' 

The  Socratic  'Wisdom'  or  '  Virtue'  will,  perhaps,  better 
than  any  other  single  term,  co\  er  the  complex  network  of 
relations  into  which  true  education  should  lead  the  child. 
As  the  child  is  led  into  this  wisdom  he  is  gradually  enabled 
to  understand  his  environment,  is  made  acquainted  with 
the  typical  relations  of  life,  and  is  inspired  with  clear  and 
generous  ideas  about  them ;  he  becomes  capable  of  entering 
sympathetically  into  the  thoughts,  and  aspirations,  and 
activities  of  his  fellow-men,  both  as  individuals  and  as 
smaller  or  larger  communities ;  he  reaches  understanding 
of  the  physical  world,  and  appreciation  of  its  forms  of 
beauty.  And  in  this  ever- widening  process  his  own  indi- 
viduality grows  and  develops :  his  powers  are  realised  only 
as  they  are  exercised  on  appropriate  material.  Thus  the 
development  of  his  relations  to  his  surroimdings  is  the 
development  of  his  own  personality.  And  this  develop- 
ment is  possible  only  through  his  own  activity.  He 
himself  must  organise  and  systematise  his  ideas  so  that 
they  are  in  true  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the  life  which 
he  has  to  live,  and  may  issue  in  the  appropriate  expressive 
activity,  mental  or  physical.  In  a  word,  the  aim  of  educa- 
tion shoidd  be  the  attainment  of  that  masterly  power  of 
dealing  with  life,  and  of  appreciating  at  their  true  value 
the  things  of  life,  which  Socrates  called  'Wisdom.'  This,  in 
more  modern  phraseology,  may  be  styled  the  development 
of  personality. 

6.  Education,  in  the  sense  in  which  we  have  now  defined 
it,  is  obviously  not  confined  to  school-life  nor  even  to 
youth.  Throughout  life,  Church,  State,  Civic  Community, 
•  Tht  due  of  Li/e,  Chap.  VI. 


J4  QENEKAL    FUNCTION    OF    TEAOHlNd. 

and  Social  Organisation  exercise  their  pressui'e  and  give 
their  instruction  by  example,  precept,  or 
of^Edu^Si?^  understood  convention.  The  limit  of  the 
educative  process  is  reached  only  when  the 
individual  becomes  inca]:>able  of  furthe)'  modification  or 
development.  No  doubt,  as  age  advances  one's  plasticity 
decreases,  but  it  vyould  be  hard  to  prove  when,  in  any 
individual  case,  it  absolutely  ceases. 

Another  educative  influence  is  the  vocation  or  employ- 
ment by  which  one  earns  a  livelihood.  In  youth  or 
early  manhood,  after  school  days  are  past  and  when  the 
directive  influence  of  home  is  lessened,  the  chief  educative 
influence  in  most  lives  is  the  deliberate  teaching  of  a  pro- 
fession, craft,  or  trade.  For  here  we  have  one  whole  set 
of  relations,  hitherto  left  vague  and  indeterminate,  given  a 
definite  direction  and  character. 

During  childhood,  however,  the  essentially  educative 
agencies  are  the  Home,  the  School,  and  the  Cluu'ch. 

In  the  earliest  years  the  home  stands  alone.  In  it  the 
child  learns  many  bodily  aptitudes  and  forms 
many  habits  of  conduct.  He  learns  to  talk 
and  to  understand  speech,  and  in  so  learning  he  imbibes 
many  of  the  thoughts  and  opinions  of  the  family,  and,  all 
unconsciously,  adopts  the  general  attitude  of  life  therein 
prevalent.  He  enters  into  many  of  the  simpler  social 
relationships,  especially  those  of  obedience  to  parents  and 
of  courtesy  and  consideration  for  others,  if  the  home  be 
good,  and  their  opposites  of  roughness  and  selfishness  if  it 
be  bad.  Throughout  youth  this  influence  of  the  home 
continues  to  be  consciously  exerted,  though  with  gradually 
but  constantly  diminishing  directive  force ;  often  it  lasts 
far  into  life.  And  though,  doubtless,  there  are  homes  that 
are  bad,  a  yet  larger  number  which  are  careless,  and  many 
which  are  not  remarkable  for  their  wisdom,  yet  it  cannot 


GENERAL  FUNCTION'  OF  TEACHING.  15 

be  doubted  that  the  eclucative  iutiiience  of  the  liome  is,  on 
tlie  whole,  a  force  making  for  righteousness  in  the  coni- 
n^unity.  No  true  view  of  education,  certainly,  can  ignore 
the  home,  though  such  ignoring  seems  to  be  implied  bj 
the  common  identification  of  education  with  schooling. 
Education,  if  wise  and  continued  tlu'oughout  generations, 
may  work  a  radical  reformation  in  a  social  state  which 
contains  much  evil,  but  to  hope  that  mere  schooling  will 
do  so,  while  the  other  agents  of-  education  remain  unsatis- 
factory, is  futile. 

That  the  school  is  an  educative  agent  is  obvious  to 
all.  It  sets  itself  ostensibly  to  train  the 
young,  and  besides  this  it  has  no  other 
justification.  All  the  other  educative  agents  we  have 
named  have  other  functions,  and  so  their  work  as  educators 
is  apt  to  be  overlooked.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  school. 
For  the  work  of  the  school  is  organised  solely  with  this 
purpose.  It  is,  therefore,  the  most  typical — if  not  the 
most  powerful — educative  instrument. 

If  we  consider  the  place  of  the  school  in  the  social 
organisation  we  shall  see  more  clearly  what  part  of  the 
work  of  education  especially  falls  to  it.  On  the  one  hand 
it  takes  up  the  specialised  function  of  instruction  which  the 
parents  have  neither  time  nor  skill,  and  frequently  not  the 
knowledge,  to  impart.  Specialised  work  is  the  character- 
istic of  all  advanced  civilisation,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
that  as  knowledge  increased  and  life  became  more  complex 
the  need  of  specialists  in  teaching  should  be  felt.  The 
teacher  in  school,  then,  acts  as  the  delegate  of  the  parents 
in  the  work  of  teaching.  This  being  so,  it  is  evident  that 
the  educative  process  will  only  go  on  smoothly  and  well 
when  home  and  school  work  in  harmony  with  each 
other. 

On  the  other  hand  the  school  is  the  or<j-an  throu-ih  which 


16  GENERAL  FUNCTION  OF  TEACHING. 

the  State  maiuly  briugs  its  iuflueuce  to  bear  on  the  youug. 
Even  when  a  school  is  not  regulated  by  the  State  it  inter- 
prets the  laws  and  customs  of  the  State  to  its  pupils,  and, 
of  course,  when  ihere  is  State  organisation  and  direction 
the  relation  is  move  intimate.  The  school  has,  therefore, 
to  assist  in  carrying  out  the  aims  of  the  State  in  providing 
for  the  education  of  the  young. 

The  school  thus  stands  as  the  intermediary  and  reconciling 
groiuid  between  the  private  and  individual  claims  of  the 
family  and  the  social  claims  of  the  State.  It  is  this  even 
to  its  scholars.  For  in  the  wider  community  of  the  school 
they  enter  into  relations  different  from  those  in  the  family, 
and  yet  simpler  and  more  limited  in  scope  than  those  that 
await  them  in  the  world. 

The  edvicative  influence  of  the  Church  is,  in  child- 
hood and  early  youth,  mainly  exercised 
The  Church.  j^^i^-eetly  through  the  home  and  the  school, 
and  so  far  as  it  is  exercised  directly  it  is  by  example 
and  teaching,  and  does  not  in  this  differ  materially  from 
the  school. 

7.  From  even  this  brief  discussion  it  has  become  manifest 

that  it  is  an  error  to  regard  education  only 
Education  and    ,^^  ^  preparation  for  adult  life,  if  such  a  view 

leads  us  to  determine  its  means  simply  by  a 
consideration  of  the  requirements  of  that  life.  For  hfe 
grows  out  of  life,  and  child-life  can  only  become  full  and 
fruitful  when  it  finds  expression  in  child- relations.  From 
the  home,  through  the  school,  the  workshop,  the  social 
communitv,  the  child  passes  to  the  fuller  relations  involved 
in  the  State  and  in  the  Church,  and  it  is  only  as  he  has 
participated  fully  in  the  former  that  he  can  profitably 
enter  into  the  latter. 

8.  A  full  treatment  of  the  theory   of  education   would, 
then,  cover  a  very  wide  ground.     Our  purpose  in  this  book 


GENERAL    FUNCTION    OF    TEACHING.  17 

is,  as  its  title  indicates,  much  more  limited.     We  deal  with 
but  one   factor   in    edvication.    But  it  was 
Teaching  necessary  to  set  forth  at  the  beginning  the 

other  and  perhaps,  more  important  factors, 
in  order  that  the  true  function  of  this  one  may  be 
appreciated.  We  confine  ourselves,  first,  to  the  school, 
as  the  typical  teaching  institution.  Then  we  further  hmit 
our  outlook  to  the  work  of  teaching,  omitting  those  more 
important  means  of  education  which  are  involved  in  the 
school  as  a  systematically  organised  social  community,  in- 
cluding its  tone  or  general  moral  atmosphere,  its  government 
and  discipline,  and  that  potent  influence,  the  personality 
of  the  teacher.  We  treat  of  teaching  by  itself,  because  it 
is  an  aspect  of  school  life  which  can  be  singled  out  in 
thought,  though  it  cannot  be  separated  in  reality  from  the 
whole  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  and  because  it  covers  a 
fairly  consistent  body  of  doctrine.  It  is  true  the  value 
and  success  of  all  school  teaching  depend  on  those  wider 
and  deeper  elements  of  school  life — tone,  discipline,  etc. — ■ 
which  we  are  omitting.  But  it  is  also  true  that  whilst  the 
latter  may  be  excellent  the  former  may  be  of  poor  quality, 
and  also,  though  in  a  much  less  degree,  that  teaching 
good  in  conception  may  accompany  bad  discipline  and 
bad  tone. 

9.  Now  in  order  that  any  work  should  be  done  really 
well  it  is  plain  that  there  must  be  a  clear 

Theory  and        conception    of    the    end   or  purpose    to    be 

Practice  in  .      _  .  .  r     r 

Teaching.  attained    and  an   intelligent    adaptation    of 

available  means  to  the  attainment   of  that 

end.     This  conception  of  end  and  means  is  what  is  meant 

by   the   theory   of   teaching.      In  other  words,  theory  is 

practice  become  conscious  of  itself,  and  practice  is  realised 

theory.     We  have  already  seen  that  Socrates  included  both 

under  knowledge ;    and  modern  custom  retains   to   some 

PJl.  TG.  2 


18  GENEEAL  FUNCTION  OF  TEACHING. 

exleut  tlie  same  comprelieusive  meaiiiug  when  it  speaks  of 
knowing  how  to  do  something  which  requires  skilL  And 
teaching  is  emphatically  skilled  work.  It  may  be,  and 
often  is,  done  mechanically,  but  then  the  result  is  inferior ; 
in  other  words,  the  children  so  treated  suffer  an  irreparable 
wrong.  The  essence  of  mechanical  work  is  that  there  is 
no  special  adaptation  of  means  to  end,  often  no  clear 
conception  of  what  end  is  really  aimed  at,  but  a  mere 
rule  of  thumb  following  out  of  process  which  leaves  off 
at  a  certain  time  but  never  finishes  in  the  sense  of  com- 
pleting a  set  work  and  attaining  a  set  purpose.  The 
mechanical  teacher  does  as  he  was  done  by;  with  him 
progress  implies  change,  and  change  is  unwelcome,  for 
he  cannot  adapt  himself  to  it.  So  the  weary  tread-mill 
round  goes  on,  and  the  school  becomes  less  and  less  a 
satisfactory  educative  agent.  For  it  brings  its  pupils 
into  no  living  relations  with  the  world,  and  the  sterile 
and  transitory  relations  it  does  establish  take  no  account 
of  the  progress  of  events  and  the  actual  state  of  man- 
kind. It  abides  in  the  traditions  of  the  elders- 
traditions  adapted  it  may  be  to  the  social  state  a  few  cen- 
turies ago,  but  quite  unfitted  to  the  changed  conditions  of 
the  present. 

The  only  escape,  however,  from  mechanism  in  teaching 
is  to  be  found  in  earnest  reflection  on  the  purpose  and 
nature  of  teaching,  and  the  results  of  such  reflection  is 
theory.  Thus,  a  theory  of  teaching  which  deserves  the 
name  is  in  the  closest  possible  touch  with  actual  school 
work.  It  is  not  an  unsubstantial  vision  spun  out  of  the 
clouds  of  an  untrammelled  imagination,  but  it  is  the 
result  of  an  analysis  of  the  function  of  teaching,  including 
its  aim  and  the  factors  concerned  in  it. 

10.  We  have  agreed  that  teaching  is  one  of  the  instru- 
ments of  education,  and  that  its   special  function  is  to 


GENERAL    FUNCTION    OF    TRAOHINO,  19 

impart  understanding  and  skill ;  in  one  word,  knowledge, 

in  the  sense  in  wliicL  we  prefer  to  use  the 
TeacMna"  term.     Now  in  this  process  there  are  tliree 

chief  factors — the  child  to  be  taught,  the 
subject-matter  by  means  of  which  he  is  to  be  taught,  and 
the  teacher  who  teaches  him.  A  theory  of  teaching  must 
bring  these  into  effective  union.  Of  the  three  factors  the 
teacher  is  evidently  the  intermediary  between  the  other 
two.  He  largely  decides  what  the  child  shall  learn  in 
school,  and  in  what  way  he  shall  learn  it.  But  there  his 
function  ceases.  The  child  must  do  his  learning  for  him- 
self if  it  is  to  be  of  any  worth.  In  other  words,  those 
relations  only  are  fruitful  which  the  individual  establishes 
for  himself ;  knowledge  is  power  only  when  it  is  attained 
by  personal  effort.  Moreover,  what  the  child  learns  has 
its  own  nature  which  the  teacher  cannot  alter,  though  he 
may,  by  bad  teaching,  place  a  distorted  vision  of  it  before 
the  child's  mind.  The  material  of  learning  must  always 
be  some  part  of  the  collective  knowledge  of  mankind,  and 
consequently  must  embody  those  relations  which  make 
knowledge  what  it  is. 

11.  The  teacher,  then,  must  regard  on  the  one  hand  the 

nature  of  the  child  to  be  taught,  and  on  the 
-t^  Teacher.      other  the  nature  of   knowledge   in    general 

and  of  the  special  piece  of  knowledge  to  be 
imparted  in  particular.  This  is  what  is  meant  when  it 
is  said  that  the  theory  of  teaching  rests  both  on  psychology 
and  on  logic.  For  knowledge  of  the  modes  of  mental  life  of 
those  to  be  taught  is  psychological  knowledge,  which  a 
study  of  systematic  psychology  may  help  us  to  attain  but 
cannot  give  us.  Such  knowledge  can  be  reached  only  at 
first  hand,  by  sympathetic  study  of  the  children  we  have 
to  teach.  Mere  psychological  insight,  however,  will  not 
make  teaching  effective.     For  children's  minds  often  work 


20  GENERAL  FUNCTION  OF  TEACHING. 

inaccurately,  and  are,  moreover,  apt  to  rest  satisfied  with 
very  imperfectly  attained  results.  Hence,  teaching  must 
set  forth  the  material  of  knowledge  in  such  a  form  that  its 
true  inherent  relations  may  be  grasped  and  that  the 
dependence  of  part  upon  part  may  be  made  explicit.  This 
is  what  we  mean  by  the  application  of  logic  to  teaching. 
All  teaching  is  logical  which  sets  forth  true  relations 
within  the  matter  of  knowledge. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  opposition  between  these  two 
sets  of  principles.  Our  inquiry  is  psychological  when  we 
ask  how  a  mind  does  worlc  in  its  attempts  to  deal  with  the 
world.  The  answer  often  shows  that  it  so  works  that  it 
attains  false  results,  as,  for  example,  in  the  explanations 
of  natural  phenomena  given  by  the  superstitious  mytholo- 
gies of  savages.  When  we  then  go  on  to  ask  how  the 
mind  slwuld  work  to  attain  truth,  the  inquiry  becomes  a 
logical  one.  When  an  opposition  is  set  up  between  a 
'  psychological  method '  of  teaching  and  a  *  logical '  one, 
the  term  '  logical '  is  confined — in  flagrant  opposition  to 
current  logical  doctrine — to  deduction.  For  the  last  sixty 
years  at  least  logic  has  protested  against  any  such  limita- 
tion. In  brief,  every  piece  of  teaching  which  arouses  any 
mental  process  at  all  in  a  pupil  is  psychological,  and  every 
piece  of  teaching  which  leads  a  pupil  towards  truth  is 
logical. 

When  a  teacher  prepares  a  piece  of  teaching  he  has 
first  to  decide  what  relations  he  wishes  to  set  before 
his  pupils ;  then  he  has  to  solve  the  two  psychological 
problems  of  what  forms  of  mental  activity  those  pupils 
must  experience  in  oi'der  to  master  those  relations, 
and  of  how  they  may  be  incited  to  put  forth  those 
forms  of  effort.  In  giving  the  lesson  the  teacher's  atten- 
tion is  doubtless  fixed  mainly  upon  the  last  of  these 
inquiries,    but    the    other    two    must    be    firmly    in    his 


dEKERAli    FUNCTION    OF    TEACHING.  21 

consciousness  in  close  union  with  each  other,  or  the  lesson 
will  be  a  failure.  The  pupils,  on  the  other  hand,  will  have 
their  attention  concentrated  on  the  logical  relations  ;  in 
other  words,  on  the  subject-matter  of  the  lesson.  Of  the 
mental  processes  they  are  passing  through  and  of  the 
teacher's  devices  to  prompt  them  to  go  through  those 
processes  they  are,  or  should  be,  unconscious. 

It  is  only  when  the  teacher  clearly  appi-eciates  the 
instrumental  character  of  his  work  that  teaching  fulfils 
its  true  function  of  causing  others  to  learn.  And  'to 
learn '  here  implies  power  to  do  as  well  as  power  to 
understand  :  it  means  the  attainment  of  knowledge  in  the 
sense  already  adopted  of  power  to  deal  effectively  with 
situations.  We  have  in  the  following  chapters  to  consider 
how  the  teacher's  mediation  between  his  pupils  and  the 
great  world  around  them  may  be  made  effective. 


CHAPTER    II. 


MATERIAL    OF     INSTRUCTION. 

1.  Nothing  except  the  ultimate  good  is  of  value  simplj 

in  and  for  itself.  The  value  of  all  other  of 
'  ValuT^  ^^®  things  we  esteem  of  worth  is  relative  to 

some  end  which  they  tend  to  sei've.  And 
such  end,  again,  is  of  value  relatively  to  some  wider  end, 
and  so  on  till  we  reach  the  highest  good  itself.  There  is 
thus  a  successive  hierarchy  of  values  beginning  with  the 
most  trivial  objects  we  esteem  and  leading  up  in  a  con- 
tinuous network  of  streams  to  their  culmination  in  the 
highest  good  for  men  as  we  judge  it  to  be. 

2.  It  thus  appears  that  education  itself  has  a  relative 

value,  the  relation  being  to  the  hind  of  life 
Relative  Values  we  judge  highest  and  noblest.  Evidently, 
School^and^'  ^^^n,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  an  absolutely 
Teaching.  good  education — that  is  one  which  would  be 

of  equal  worth  in  every  set  of  conditions. 
For  with  variations  in  the  conception  of  the  ideal  of  life 
there  must  of  necessity  be  corresponding  variations  in  the 
education  which  prepares  for  that  life.  As  the  end  varies 
so  must  the  means  vary  in  relation  to  it. 


MATERIAL    OP    INSTRUCTIOiV.  '23 

If  this  is  true  of  the  whole  content  of  education,  it  is 
still  more  true  of  the  agents  of  education.  The  functions 
of  the  State,  the  family,  and  the  school  are  directly 
I'elated  to  the  whole  process  of  education,  and  indirectly 
and  through  that  to  the  conception  of  the  end  of  life. 
Hence,  the  test  of  the  value  of  any  school  is  the  degree  to 
which  it  fulfils  its  function  in  the  whole  educative  process. 
And  as  various  schools  differ  in  function,  so  the  appli- 
cation of  such  a  test  will  be  various. 

In  the  third  degree  of  relative  value  we  have  the  instru- 
ments which  the  school  uses  to  secure  its  object — broadly, 
instruction  and  discipline.  The  value,  then,  of  school 
instruction  is  directly  relative  to  our  idea  of  the  ends  the 
school  has  to  serve,  and  through  that  indirectly  relative  to 
our  conception  of  the  work  of  education  as  a  whole,  and 
through  that  again  to  our  conception  of  the  ultimate 
meaning  and  purpose  of  human  life.  In  other  words,  the 
value  of  the  school  is  itself  relative,  and  that  of  all  school 
instruments  relative  in  a  lower  degree. 

3.  If  this  be  borne  in  mind  there  will  be  no  danger  of 
our  falling  into  the  very  common  errors  of 
eSggerating  exaggerating  either  the  function  of  the  school 
Functions  of  as  a  whole  by  regarding  it  as  the  only 
School  and  of  educative  community,  or  that  of  instruction 
by  thinking  of  it  as  the  sole  educative 
instrument  the  school  employs.  Such  exaggerations  are 
not  only  theoretically  unfortunate ;  they  frequently  entail 
undesirable  practical  consequences.  The  pedagogical  arro- 
gance which  is  the  natural  outcome  of  the  view  that  the 
school  is  the  only  serious  educative  institution  is  both  a 
cause  and  a  symptom  of  a  dislocation  between  the  school 
and  the  world  outside  in  general,  and  the  family  in  par- 
ticular, the  effects  of  which  on  the  whole  process  of 
education  are  disastrous.     The  theoretical  ignoring  by  the 


24  MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

teacher  of  moulding  influences  outside  tlie  scliool  does  not 
put  those  influences  out  of  existence,  but  it  does  lead  to 
much  waste  of  effort  and  to  grievous  disappointment  at 
the  contrast  between  the  results  achieved  and  those  which 
the  theory  that  the  school  is  all  in  all  in  education  would 
lead  one  to  expect. 

Similarly,  the  exaggerated  importance  often  given  to  in- 
struction in  school  education  tends  to  the  substitution  of 
the  means  for  the  end,  and  to  making  the  acquirement  of 
information  the  ostensible  end  of  school  work.  This  at 
bottom  means  the  setting  up  of  external  success  as  the 
main  if  not  the  only  aim  of  effort.  In  this  way  the  whole 
influence  of  the  school  is  thrown,  often  unintentionally, 
on  the  side  of  a  narrowly  materialistic  view  of  life.  Con- 
currently with  this  exaggeration  and  proportionate  to  it, 
we  have  a  neglect  of  all  forms  of  social  life  in  the 
school,  especially  of  school  games,  and  a  tendency  to 
regard  drill  and  gymnastics  as  furnishing  a  sufficient 
physical  training. 

4.  If,  then,  we  grasp  the  truth  that  any  piece  of  insti-uc- 
tion  has  but  a  limited  effect  on  the  total  life  of 
Test  of  our  pupils,  we  shall  be  all  the  more  desirous 

Educational  ^j^^  ^  ^f  ^^^^,  efforts  in  teaching  shaU  be 
Value  of  .    -,.  ,       -.,?  ,. 

Instruction.        either  wasted  or  misdu'ected.     Misdirection 

of  effort  is,  indeed,  worse  than  waste,  for  in 
the  latter  case  the  effect  is  merely  zero,  but  in  the  former 
it  is  a  negative  quantity  relatively  to  our  aim.  Hence, 
relatively  to  the  work  of  education,  the  question  of  the 
value  of  the  instruction  given  is  of  vast  importance.  This 
question  arises  in  three  main  aspects  of  instruction.  First, 
as  to  those  broad  factors  of  the  course  of  study  known  as 
subjects.'  Secondly,  as  to  the  actual  content  of  those 
factors.  It  is  obviously  not  enough  to  decide  that  a  certain 
subject,  say  history,  shall  be  taught.     The  actual  value  of 


MATERIAL   OF   INSTRUCTION.  26 

that  subject  as  an  instrument  of  education  will  depend 
upon  what  parts  of  it  we  teach.  Thirdly,  it  will  depend 
also  upon  how  it  is  taught,  whether  in  such  a  way  that 
it  becomes  mere  mental  lumber  or  in  such  that  it  enters 
into  the  very  texture  of  Ufe  itself. 

It  is  seen,  then,  that  the  decision  of  this  question  of  the 
value  of  the  different  parts  of  the  school  curriculum  is 
dominated  by  the  conclusion  arrived  at  with  regard  to  the 
aim  of  the  school  work  as  a  Avhole.  We  have  decided  this 
to  be,  in  the  most  general  terms,  to  bring  the  pupils  as 
far  as  possible  into  good,  true,  and  effective  relations  with 
the  world  of  which  they  are  constituents.  If  we  analyse 
this  idea  we  find  that  it  covers 

(«)  preparation  for  the  utilitarian  life  of  earning  a 

living, 
(h)  preparation  for  social  life  in  all  its  forms, 
(c)   preparation    for    the     private    life    of    cultured 
leisure. 
On  the  subjective  side   this   means   a  development  of 
the   inner   capacities   with   reference  to  these  ends ;    for 
such  development   is    the  one  essential  condition   of  the 
'  preparation '  spoken  of  in  each  case.     Now,  according  to 
our  view  of  the  life  our  pupils  lead  in  the  present  and  are 
likely  to  lead  in  the  future  we  shall  emphasise  the  relative 
importance  of  one  or  other  of  these  great  departments,  and 
we  shall  call  that  development  of  capacity  a  harmonious 
one  which  observes  these  relations  of  emphasis. 

5.  Such  a  broad  statement  of  the  test  of  value  covers  and 
includes  all  that  is  true  in  the  current  tests 
Evils  of  apply-   of  educational  value,  viz.,  as  Spencer  puts  it, 
T^ts.  "  value  as  knowledge  and  value  as  discipline." 

At  the  same  time  it  prevents  exaggeration  on 
the  one  side  or  on  the  other  if  it  is  fully  and  consistently 
applied,   for  it  should  prevent  us  from  considering   any 


26  MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

piece  of  teaching  exclusively  from  either  of  these  abstract 
points  of  view — abstract  in  that  in  all  real  learning  there 
is  both  content,  or  some  knowledge  acquired,  and  dis- 
cipline, or  mental  exercise  in  the  attainment  of  •  that 
knowledge. 

Of  these  two  abstractions  the  latter  has  generally  been 

the  favourite  of  the  professional  educator, 
'Value  as  ^^^  ^^^  former  that  of  the  man  in  the  street — 

Discipline.  ,  n      •        ^     -,        ^^  tt    • 

the  unprofessional  educator.     He  is  anxious 

about  what  his  son  learns  and  cares  little  for  the  how, 
whilst  the  teacher  naturally  tends  to  emphasise  the  '  how  ' 
at  the  expense  of  the  'what,'  for  the  'how'  is  the  distinctive 
mark  of  his  craft.  So  we  hear  much  of  the  disciplinary 
value  of  mathematics  or  of  classics  in  that  they  train  the 
'  faculties'  of  reasoning  and  judgment,  of  the  aim  of  object- 
lessons  as  a  training  of  the  observation,  and  of  practice 
in  '  design  '  as  a  development  of  the  imagination. 

Now,  if  taken  narrowly  enough,  such  statements  are  true. 
But  the  usual  implication  is  that  there  is  attained  through 
such  means  a  general  development  of  the  faculty  in  question. 
But  this  is  not  so.  Every  such  '  faculty  '  is  merely  a 
mental  habit  and  it  is  no  more  possible  to  develop,  for 
example,  a  memory  in  general  than  it  is  to  develop  a  habit 
of  movement  in  general.  We  can  develop  a  memory  for 
words,  figures,  forms,  etc.,  but  we  can  do  no  more.  More- 
over, mere  facility  of  memory  is  not  its  most  important 
feature:  tenacity  and  power  of  selection  and  systematisa- 
tion  are  still  more  desirable  qualities.  And  these  imply 
that  habits  of  memory  are  not  formed  separately  by  exer- 
cises devoted  to  that  end  alone,  but  are  developed  as  part 
of  the  regular  activity  of  mind  in  gaining  knowledge. 
Similar  remarks  hold  true  of  training  the  observation, 
training  the  imagination,  and  so  on.  All  such  '  faculties  ' 
must  be  developed  as  essential  factors  in  a  healthy  mental 


MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION.  27 

life ;  liiit  if  the  attempt  is  made  to  develop  them  iu 
isolation  the  result  is  merely  the  formation  of  cei^taiu 
narrow  mental  habits. 

Further,  the  setting  up  of  this  '  training  of  faculty '  as 
our  immediate  aim  is  apt  to  make  us  forget  its  really  in- 
strumental character,  and  then  we  seek  evidence  of  our 
success  in  an  immediate  outcome  of  the  '  faculty '  we 
have  been  cultivating.  So  we  gauge  the  worth  of  our 
teaching  by  a  pupil's  easy  reproduction  of  a  number  of 
statements  of  facts  he  has  '  learnt,'  by  his  power  to  dis- 
sect a  flower,  by  the  facility  with  which  he  produces  a 
'  design.'  But  we  too  often  forget  to  ask  whether  the 
child  who  dissects  the  flower  has  also  learnt  to  love  and 
admire  its  beauty,  or  whether  the  pupil  who  makes  a 
design  is  also  developing  a  sense  of  fitness  and  appropriate- 
ness to  purpose  as  well  as  a  feeling  for  symmetry.  Thei^e 
is,  indeed,  no  necessary  antagonism  between  such  results 
in  the  child's  mind,  but  the  latter  kind  of  results  are  only 
likely  to  be  striven  for  consciously  by  the  teacher  who  thinks 
of  the  value  of  his  teaching  in  terms  of  the  concrete  life  of 
the  pupils,  and  not  in  terms  of  abstract  faculty  training. 

Fvirther,  a  doctrine  of  abstract  faculty  training  is  likely 
to  lead  in  practice  to  a  substitution  of  trivial  erudition 
for  real  valuable  mental  activity ;  for  such  '  faculty  train- 
ing '  is  most  obviously  carried  out  by  preponderant  atten- 
tion to  details,  especially  with  the  lower  faculties  of 
observation  and  memory.  It,  moreover,  tends  to  a  mode 
of  teaching  which  defeats  its  own  ends — viz.  an  excessive 
use  of  that  form  of  oral  teaching  in  Avhich  the  teacher  guides 
and  leads  the  pupil's  thoughts  from  one  detail  to  another, 
so  persistently  that  no  serious  effort  is  required  to  follow 
him,  and  so  minutely  that  nothing  but  details  are  attended 
to ;  hence  these  remain  separate  and  fail  to  enter  really 
into  the  structure  of  knowledge. 


28  MATERIAL    OF    INSTRtTCTlON. 

In  the  next  place,  the  doctrine  of  the  '  training  of 
faculty '  makes  no  effort  to  evaluate  the  faculties  or  to  deter- 
mine their  true  part  in  the  concrete  mental  life.  Hence, 
now  one  faculty  and  now  another  becomes  fashionable. 
A  century  ago  it  was  the  memory,  afterwards  the  reason 
and  understanding ;  now-a-days  it  is  the  observation  to  the 
training  of  which  enthusiastic  reformers  beg  us  to  direct 
our  supreme  efforts.  It  is  only  from  an  analysis  of  the 
main  relations  of  the  individual  to  his  world,  in  view  of  a 
definite  conception  of  the  ultimate  purpose  of  his  life,  that 
there  conies  an  evaluation  which  makes  it  clear  that  in  the 
last  resort  intellectual  power  is  valuable  as  auxiliary  to 
what  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  word  we  call  '  moral ' 
functions,  and  that  aesthetic  discrimination  plays  also  a 
subordinate  part,  though  one  superior  on  the  whole  to  the 
merely  intellectual  in  that  instinctive  goodness  is  rather  of 
an  aesthetic  than  of  an  intellectual  character. 

Lastly,  the  doctrine  of  facidty  training  exaggerates  the 
importance  of  the  mode  of  teaching  over  the  matter  taught. 
In  its  most  extreme  form  it  has  been  stated  that  "  it  does 
not  matter  what  you  teach :  the  important  thing  is  how 
you  teach  it."  This  would  seem  to  imply  that  no  influence 
is  exerted  by  the  environment,  and  that  therefore  it  does 
not  matter  in  what  mental  environment  a  child  is  placed 
so  long  as  he  is  active  in  relation  to  it.  It  is  assumed 
that  the  capacity  for  acting  can  be  divorced  from  every- 
thing which  makes  it  a  real  activity ;  that  habit  is  a 
tendency  to  do  irrespective  of  what  is  done.  But  all  this 
is  at  hopeless  variance  with  fact. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  take  the  second  abstraction  '  value 

as  knowledge'  as  our  test  leads  to  equally 

Ka^wfedKe '       'undesirable   corollaries.      There   is,   first,    a 

tendency  to  limit  'knowledge'  to  information 

about  facts,  statements   of   which   can   be  committed  to 


MATERIAIi    OP    INSTRUCTION.  29 

memory.  Secondly,  a  further  teiideucy  to  restrict  such 
'knowledge'  to  what  is  lilcely  to  be  immediately  useful  in 
industrial  or  professional  life.  Thirdly,  a  tendency  to 
overestimate  the  amount  of  such  '  knowledge '  which  an 
individual  can  assimilate.  Fourthly,  a  tendency  to  attach 
too  little  importance  to  the  manner  in  which  the  know- 
ledge is  acquired.  Fifthly,  a  tendency  to  estimate  the 
result  of  the  teaching  by  the  amount  of  '  knowledge ' 
acquired  rather  than  by  its  nature.  And  sixthly,  a 
tendency  to  confuse  the  power  to  talk  about  a  thing  with 
real  knowledge  of  it. 

These  tendencies  play  into  each  other,  and  their  general 
outcome  is  the  worship  of  examinations,  and  the  setting  up 
of  success  in  examinations  as  the  real,  if  not  the  ostensible, 
aim  of  the  school.  The  result  on  the  pupils  is  generally 
disastrous.  Nothing  fatigues  the  brain  so  much  as  an 
attempt  to  acquire  a  large  number  of  unsystematised  facts, 
often  of  no  importance  in  themselves  and  whose  bearing  on 
life  and  purpose  is  far  from  obvious.  Hence  arise  in  the 
pupil  disgust  and  a  distaste  for  all  intellectual  pursuits, 
and  as  a  result  no  attempt  is  made  by  him  to  render  the 
knowledge  acquired  a  permanent  possession  throughout 
life.  Further,  there  ensues  a  cultivated  habit  of  attending 
almost  or  quite  exclusively  to  details  in  every  matter,  and 
an  inability  to  see  the  general  bearings  of  things. 

Neither  ' value  as  discipline'  nor  'value  as  knowledge' 

is,  therefore,  a  sufficient  test  of  educational 

These  Values  value.  Nor  can  we  assume,  as  Mr.  Spencer 
not  necessarily    ,  .  i     .     .  i        .  -n       i  ■      •  -■ 

Connected.         does,    that   the    two   will    always    coincide. 

Practical  skill  comes  with  practice,  and 
theoretical  considerations  are  out  of  place  in  its  appli- 
cation. To  think,  for  example,  of  the  mechanism  of  any 
movement  while  making  it  would  interfere  with  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  movement,  which  is  perfect  in  proportion 


30  MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION. 


as  1 


„_  .t  has  become  automatic.  It  is,  therefore,  by  no  means 
always  true  that  the  '  subjects '  whicli  offer  the  best 
gymnastic  of  the  mind  are  always  those  which  can  be  most 
directly  applied  in  practical  life;  still  less  that  the 
mental  attitude  towards  them  is  the  same.  These  values 
are  not  identical;  each  is  a  factor  in  the  fuller  test  we 
have  suggested. 

6.  Though  we  have  analysed  the  relations  of  the  in- 
dividual to  his  world  into  utilitarian,  social, 
Son^of^Test  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^  express  individual  culture, 
to  School  yet  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  both  that  these 

^°^^"  are  mere   abstractions   if   taken  separately, 

and  that,  as  the  school  is  not  the  only  educative  agency, 
it  may  well  be  that  it  deals  directly  with  some  only  of 
these  aspects  of  life.  Now,  it  is  evident  that  many  of  the 
practical  activities  of  life  are  best  learned,  and  in  many 
cases  can  only  be  learned,  by  the  actual  practice  of  them. 
This  applies  particularly  to  the  special  skill  required  in 
many  individual  trades  and  occupations,  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, we  can  dismiss  from  consideration  all  such  forms 
of  knowledge  as  matter  of  instruction  for  the  ordinary 
school.  The  knowledge  required  must  be  gained  in  actual 
workshops,  whether  those  of  ordinary  trade  or  those 
connected  with  technical  schools  it  does  not,  in  this 
connection,  matter.  The  same  remark  applies  to 
certain  social  relations,  as,  for  example,  those  of  family 
life,  which,  so  far  as  they  are  special  modifications 
of  general  social  relations,  fall  outside  the  purview  of  the 
general  school. 

It  follows  from  these  considerations— 

(a)  that  the  preparation  for  life  given  in  the  school  is  of 
a  general  rather  than  of  a  specific  character  ; 

(b)  that  such  preparation  shoidd  supply  a  basis  for  any 
kind   of  specialised   effort   later  on,  and  nuist,  therefore, 


MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION.  31 

bring  each  pupil  into  relations  witli  each  of  the  great 
typical  aspects  of  the  world  :  hence,  the  curriculum  must 
be  a  wide  one  ; 

(c)  that  to  bring  a  mind  into  relation  with  any  aspect 
of  the  world  means  to  develop  in  connection  with  that 
aspect  a  system  of  ideas  of  such  a  nature  that  they 
prompt  to  forms  of  activity  designed  to  realise  and  develop 
them  ; 

(d)  but  that,  as  the  amount  of  such  energy  and  activity 
possible  to  each  individual  is  limited  in  amount,  all  waste 
of  it  should  be  avoided :  in  other  words,  only  such  know- 
ledge should  be  presented  as  can  be  assimilated,  and  such 
knowledge  shoidd  illumine  as  wide  tracts  of  experience  as 
possible. 

Of  a  curriculum  as  a  whole  we,  therefore,  ask :  Does  it 
instil  a  large  number  of  fruitful  and  generous  ideas  in 
connection  with  all  the  types  of  relations  into  which  the 
pupils  are  brought  in  life,  and  does  it  so  relate  and 
organise  those  ideas  that  they  are  in  true  relation  with  each 
other  and  with  the  life  the  child  has  to  lead  ?  Similarly, 
of  any  special  factor  of  the  curriculum— whether  '  subject ' 
or  part  of  subject — we  ask  :  Is  the  matter  calculated  to 
bring  the  pupils  into  closer  and  truer  relations  with  that 
particular  part  of  their  environment,  and  is  it  likely  to  do 
this  in  an  inspiring  way;  that  is,  so  as  to  promote  a 
nobler  and  wider  outlook  on  that  aspect  of  life  ?  If  the 
answer  is  favourable,  then  the  knowledge  it  is  proposed  to 
impart  is  both  '  useful '  in  the  true  sense  that  it  can  be 
put  to  some  Avorthy  use  in  the  pupils'  lives,  and 
'  disciplinary '  in  that  it  is  such  as  will  stimulate  and 
occasion  appropriate  mental  activity. 

It  is  obvious  that  these  questions  asked  of  any  one  piece 
of  knowledge  would  receive  very  different  answers  in 
varieties  of   cii-cimistances   due  to   the   character  of   the 


32  MATERIAL    Oi"    INSTRUCTION. 

school  and  to  the  age  of  the  pupils.  We  can,  therefore, 
speak  of  no  piece  of  knowledge  as  having  an  absolute 
educational  value,  or  as  being  a  universally  important 
instrument  of  education. 

But  if,  in  answer  to  such  questions,  the  only  reason  that 

can  be  given  for  teaching  any  subject  or 
Material  part  of  a  subject  is  that  it  can  be  applied  in 

Currioilum.       ^^®  future   to    some  directly   practical   and 

material  end,  or  that  it  is  meant  as  an 
'accomplishment,'  that  is,  some  mere  conventional  orna- 
ment, then  there  is  no  justification  for  the  teaching.  There 
is  neither  time  nor  energy  at  disposal  in  school  life  for 
attaining  knowledge  which  does  not  widen  the  outlook 
and  develop  those  qualities  of  character  which  lead  to  the 
time  fulfilment  of  function  in  life.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  saying  that  every  true  school — be  it  secondary  or 
primary — gives  a  '  liberal  education.'  For  a  liberal  edu- 
cation deals  with  the  necessary  and  the  beautiful,  and  a 
competent  dealing  with  them  leaves  no  time  for  the 
narrowly  utihtarian  or  the  merely  ornamental. 

With  at  least  equal  force  do  such  considerations  apply 

when  the  '  directly  practical  end '  is  the 
Examinations.  .  •      j.-  o      j?  ^^ 

passmg    an    examination.     So    tar    as    the 

selection  of  the  matter  of  instiiiction  is  determined  by 

this  consideration,  and  the  teaching  is  directed  towards 

this   end,  the  curriculum  and  the   teaching  cease  to   be 

essentially   educative  in  intention.      The    true    function 

of   examinations   is  to  test   and   to  probe.     Directly  an 

examination  is  made  regulative,  the  teacher  who  so  accepts 

it  delegates  the  determination  of  his  curriculum  to  someone 

else,  who,  ex  hyjjothesi,  does  not  know  the  needs  of  the 

pupils   as   intimately   as   the  teacher  himseK    does.     Of 

course,  a  curriculum  thus  externally  determined  may  be  a 

good  one  as  a  whole,  but  even  then,  in  the  circumstances 


MATERIAL    OF    IxVSTKOCTlON.  33 

we  are  considering,  it  is  most  likely  to  be  badly  used ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  aim  of  the  teacher,  and  consequently  of  the 
pupils,  is  likely  to  be  the  comparatively  low  one  of  external 
success.  Moreover,  such  an  externally  devised  curriculum 
generally  imposes  a  certain  fixed  amount  to  be  learnt  in  a 
certain  limited  time,  and  it  will  be  fortunate  indeed  if  this 
amount  is  so  well  adapted  to  the  school  that  neither  on  the 
one  hand  is  time  wasted,  nor  on  the  other  is  there  haste 
and  scramble  in  the  teaching  in  the  attempt  to  accomplish 
the  given  task. 

Further,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  examinations  have  hitherto 
shown  a  marked  tendency  to  attach  too  much  importance 
to  memory  of  detail,  and  that  detail  very  often  both  trivial 
and  obscure.  This  leads  to  attention  being  focussed  on 
details,  and  not  only  does  this  generate  a  bad  mental  habit 
in  the  pupils,  but  the  curriculum  becomes  overcrowded; 
not  because  ideas  are  being  developed  in  too  many  of  the 
pupils'  relations  to  the  world,  but  because  the  development 
of  such  fruitful  ideas  is  actually  being  hindered  by  the 
fixing  of  the  attention  on  a  vast  number  of  '  facts,'  between 
which  the  reason  can  establish  no  relations,  and  which, 
therefore,  even  when  acquired,  cannot  go  out  beyond 
themselves  ;  which  are  not,  in  a  word,  illuminating  or 
fruitful,  and  which,  consequently,  can  lead  only  to  mental 
confusion  and  disgust.  It  is  in  this  that  we  find  the 
root  of  the  great  majority  of  children's  'howlers'  which 
are  periodically  seiwed  up  for  the  amusement  of  the 
thoughtless. 

7.  To  lead  its  pupils  into  true  relations  with  their  world 

Special  appli-  '^'  ^^^^'  *^^  ^^*^^'^'  ^^  ^^ery  school  in  general, 
cation  of  Test  to  and  of  school  instruction  in  particular.  With 
different  Types  us  this  means,  at  bottom,  to  help  the  pupils 

01  Scnools.  J.       r-     1    .1  ,  ,  .      ^  r    r- 

to  find  themselves  at  home  m  the  English 
civilisation  of  the  twentieth  century  as  it  is  seen  at  its 

PB.  TO.  3 


^  MATERIAL    OF    INSTETTCTION. 

best  in  that  station  of  life  in  which  they  live.  For  the 
aim  of  education  is  not  merely  in  the  distant  future  of 
adult  Hfe.  On  the  contrary  it  is  immediate,  and  it  is  only 
by  making  the  present  hfe  of  its  pupils  as  children  a 
worthy  one  that  the  school  can  hope  to  prepare  them  for 
a  future  worthy  life  as  adults. 

All  one's  relations  with  one's  world  are  both  social 
and  individual.  As  an  individual  each  child  has  to 
become  familiar  with  the  thoughts,  actions,  and  feel- 
ings of  the  people  who  surround  him.  These  he  can 
understand  only  in  so  far  as  he  himself  learns  to  think 
about  similar  things  in  a  similar  way,  to  evaluate  experi- 
ences by  a  similar  standard,  and  to  adopt  similar  purposes. 
Of  course,  he  is  continually  doing  all  this  through  conscious 
and  unconscious  imitation  of  those  around  him  ;  he  is  learn- 
ing their  language,  and  in  doing  so  is  entering  into  the 
thoughts,  feelings,  desires,  and  purposes  which  that  language 
expresses.  The  fimction  of  a  school  is  to  make  clear,  defi- 
nite, and  systematic  this  confused  understanding  of  the 
life  surrounding  its  pupils,  and  to  do  this  in  such  a  way  that 
this  life  is  not  only  entered  into,  but  is  made  the  stepping- 
stone  to  a  higher,  wiser,  and  nobler  Hfe.  But  the  life  from 
which  all  frmtf ul  school  instruction  must  start,  and  in  which 
it  must  find  its  root,  is  always  the  actual  life  of  its  pupils. 

Thus,  it  is  obvious  that  the  application  of  our  general 
test  would  lead  to  different  details  of  curriculum  in 
different  classes  of  schools,  the  main  conditions  of  differ- 
ence being  the  character  of  the  actual  life  of  the  pupils, 
the  age  to  which  most  of  them  remain  at  school,  and  the 
broad  kind  of  industrial  or  professional  life  which  the  great 
majority  may  be  expected  to  live.  In  every  case  the  pupils 
should  be  led  into  relations  with  all  the  typical  aspects 
of  experience,  but  the  detailed  studies  through  which  this 
is  done  must  be  specially  determined  in  each  case. 


MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION.  35 

Speaking  broadly,  we  may  say  that  the  problem  will  re- 
ceive four  maiu  types  of  answer — that  of  the  school  which 
retains  its  pupils  to  the  age  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  and 
sends  forward  a  considerable  proportion  of  them  to  the 
universities ;  that  of  the  school  whose  pupils  leave  at  six- 
teen or  seventeen  years  of  age  and  then  enter  the  subordi- 
nate walks  of  professional  life  or  the  higher  grades  of 
industrial  life ;  that  of  the  primary  school  whose  pupils 
leave  at  about  fourteen  years  of  age  and  enter  the  lower 
ranks  of  various  industrial  occupations  ;  and  that  of  the 
infant  school  whose  function  it  is  to  prepare  its  pupils 
for  either  the  primary  or  the  secondary  school.  Each  of 
these  answers  requires  separate  and  detailed  elaboration, 
and  an  excellent  answer  to  the  problem  in  one  case  may 
be,  or  rather  must  be,  a  very  poor  ansAver  in  each  of  the 
others. 

In  this  book  we  limit  ourselves  to  the  answer  which 
should  be  given  in  the  case  of  the  primary 
Limitation  of  school  whose  pupils  range  in  age  from  seven 
the  P^m,rv°  ^  foui-teen  years,  and  live  in  homes  which 
School.  are  not,  as  a  rule,  marked  by  considerable 

culture  and  refinement.  This  last  considera- 
tion, regi'ettable  as  it  is,  must  be  recognised  as  a  factor 
which  has  a  profound  influence  on  the  teaching,  for  it  fixes 
our  starting-point  and  it  limits,  both  in  this  way  and  by  its 
constant  influence,  the  extent  to  which  culture  is  possible. 

8.  When  we  consider  in  more  detail  what  we  mean  by 
understanding  and  entering  into  the  thoughts, 
Determination  feelings,  and  activities  of  the  world  around 
lum  of  th"pri-  ^^'  ^^  ^^^  ^^  must  analyse  those  activities 
mary  School,  to  find  the  objects  on  which  they  are  exer- 
cised. We  then  see  that  thoughts  are 
exercised  either  on  men's  lives  or  on  the  physical  world ; 
that    feelings    are    called    out    mainly    by   the    personal 


36  MATERIAL    OF    INSTBUCTION. 

relations  of  other  men  to  ourselves  or  to  those  in  whom  we 
are  interested,  or  by  certain  aspects  of  material  things 
which  we  broadly  classify  as  beautiful  or  ugly ;  and  that 
activities  are  in  close  relation  to  thoughts  and  feelings,  for 
they  are  inspired  by  purposes  which  we  feel  to  be  of  value, 
and  of  which  we  can  anticipate  the  reahsation  and  plan 
the  accompHshment.  To  know  thoroughly  the  activities 
of  the  men  of  our  generation  would  therefore  include  in 
itself  all  that  it  is  possible  to  learn,  for  it  would  embrace  all 
existing  knowledge.  Nothing  can  go  beyond  this  except 
new  discoveries  which  add  to  the  sum  of  human  know- 
ledge, and,  of  course,  such  discoveries  play  no  direct  part  in 
the  life  of  the  primaiy  school.  It  is  true  that  the  school 
cannot  set  before  itself  as  the  aim  of  its  instruction  an 
attempt  to  cover  aU  departments  of  human  knowledge. 
But  it  must  consider  the  broad  nature  of  them  all  in  order 
that  no  typical  aspect  of  human  experience  or  form  of 
human  activity  may  be  omitted. 

Attempting   this,  we    see   that  in  order   to  enter  into 

men's  Hves  at  all  a  knowledge  of  language 
Lanffuaee  ^^  essential.     The  first  function  of  the  school 

is,  then,  the  cultivation  of  language.  In 
the  primary  school  this  is  necessarily  confined  to  the 
mother  tongue.  To  help  its  pupils  to  imderstand,  to  speak 
and  to  write  the  mother  tongue  is,  therefore,  one  of  the 
school's  most  important  tasks. 

In    the   next    place,  we   need   to    extend    the    pupils' 

knowledge  of  what  men  think  and  do  far 
Literature,  beyond  the  narrow  confines  of  their  indi- 
SociaP'  ^^  vidual  hves,  and  the  great  means  of  such 
Geography.        extension    are  literature,   history,  and  that 

description  of  the  lives  of  foreign  peoples 
which  may  be  caUed  social  geography.  Some  amount  of 
ethical  analysis  of  conduct  will  naturally  find  its  place  here. 


MATERIAL    OP    INSTRUCTION.  37 

In  the  third  place,  men  think  of  the  material  world  and 

adapt  it  to  their  needs.  To  enter  into  the 
World^  ^^       ^^^®  around  him  the  pupil  must,  therefore, 

study  the  natural  world,  and  the  relations 
of  natural  objects  and  forces  to  each  other.  With  pupils 
as  young  as  those  of  the  primary  school  this  study 
cannot  be  very  deep.  The  course  of  nature  is  too 
complex  for  a  child  of  fourteen  to  be  able  to  unravel 
much  of  it,  but  some  general  ideas  of  the  meaning  of 
nature  and  of  the  lives  of  plants  and  animals  should 
be  acquired. 

Of   course,   that   important   aspect   of    natural    things 
„  ^,        ^.         which    we   call    quantity    must    receive   at- 

tention,  so  some  elementary  knowledge  of 
mathematics  will  be  included. 

Further,  the  aesthetic  aspect   of    things  must   not  be 

neglected.  Nature  offers  much  of  beauty, 
Drawing  etc      ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^  produced  much  more ;  and  the 

influence  of  beauty  is  very  real  in  the  world 
of  to-day,  if,  perhaps,  less  conspicuous  than  it  has  been 
in  some  past  times.  To  train  appreciation  of  beauty 
is,  therefore,  pai't  of  the  work  of  the  school.  Indeed,  in 
the  case  of  the  primary  school  it  is  a  factor  of  the  greatest 
importance,  for  in  no  sphere  has  the  school  to  supplement 
the  deficiencies  of  the  home  more  than  in  this.  Some 
cultivation  of  music  and  of  at  least  one  of  the  arts  which 
aim  at  beauty  in  form  should,  therefore,  enter  into  the 
cuniculum. 

Lastly,    the   pupils   must    get    an   insight   by    various 
H    d"      ft         i^anual  occupations  into  the  primary  ways 

in  which  man  adapts  natural  objects  to 
the  attainment  of  his  purposes. 

These  broad   groups    must    be    regarded    as    essential 
constituents  of  any  worthy   curriculum.     But  the  filling 

52347 


38  MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

of  each  group,  and  the  relative  emphasis  laid  on  each, 
may  well  vary  from  school  to  school.  The  out  of 
school  lives  of  the  pupils  would  influence  the 
Variations  in  choice.  Thus,  a  town  school  would  not 
Emphasis  on  j^^^g  ^  curriculum  identical  with  that  of  a 
Groups.  rural   school.      In   the  latter  some  form  of 

school  gardening  might  occupy  part  of  the 
time  given  to  book  learning  in  the  former.  For  such  a 
subject  would  not  only  be  ia  more  direct  relation  with  the 
out  of  school  lives  of  the  pupils  in  the  present,  but  would 
tend  to  develop  in  them  tastes  and  aptitudes  for  the 
pursuit  of  which  a  country  life  furnishes  facilities.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  public  libraries  in  the  towns  present 
means  for  continuing  literary  culture  which  are  absent 
in  the  countiy,  while  the  opportunities  for  gardening 
are  frequently  small.  This  factor  of  choice  involved 
in  the  likelihood  of  means  for  developing  during  leisure 
hours  in  the  future  a  form  of  activity  for  which  a  taste 
has  been  acquired  in  the  school  is  one  much  neglected,  but 
none  the  less  important. 

Similarly,  a  town  school,  whose  pupils  come  from  ex- 
tremely poor  and  uncultured  homes,  might  profitably 
devote  a  larger  amount  of  time  to  various  forms  of 
handicraft  than  one  whose  pupils  live  amidst  surround- 
ings of  a  more  in  ellectual  character.  For  in  this  way 
the  children  would  more  easily  see  some  value  in  schooling, 
and  so  would  throw  themselves  into  it  more  heartily.  Nor 
must  it  be  forgotten  that  appreciation  of  productive  labour 
is  the  first  step  in  civilisation. 

A  further  cause  of  variation  may  be  found  in  the  en- 
thusiasms and  tastes  of  the  teacher.  Everyone  teaches 
most  effectively  that  which  he  knows  and  likes  best,  and 
hence  it  is  quite  legitimate  for  a  teacher  to  prefer  to  put 
his  own  pet  subject  into   the  cm-riculum,  provided  it  be 


MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION.  39 

one  of   general  interest,  rather  than  some   other  in  the 
same  general  group. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  though  the  State  or  the  local 
community  has  the  right  to  demand  that  the  schools 
through  which  its  educative  efforts  are  brought  to  bear  on 
the  children  shall  adopt  a  curriculum  of  a  certain  broad 
and  general  character,  yet  the  actual  filling  of  the 
general  scheme  should  be  left  to  the  teacher.  In  towns, 
at  any  rate,  freedom  of  choice  between  schools  with 
somewhat  different  courses  of  study  would  also  leave 
scope  for  the  satisfaction  of  varying  aims  and  desires  on 
the  part  of  the  parents.  But  when  either  the  State  or 
the  local  education  authority  imposes  a  rigid  syllabus 
upon  the  schools  under  its  care  the  liberty  of  both  parents 
and  teachers  is  unjustifiably  ciirtailed,  and  in  many  cases 
a  dead  mechanism  is  substituted  for  a  living  and  fruitful 
human  activity. 

Of  course,  every  actual  determination  of  a  curriculum  is 

largely  influenced  by  school  ti'adition.  In 
T    dT''^  ^^^^  tradition  we  have  the  expression  of  the 

scholastic  experience  of  the  past,  and  we  can 
judge  its  results  both  as  to  their  actual  value  and  as  to 
their  suitability  to  the  conditions  of  the  present.  For  it  is 
only  as  conditions  of  life  change  that  educative  organisa- 
tions and  instruments  which  have  been  successful  in  the 
past  need  to  be  modified.  Every  good  curriculum,  there- 
fore, takes  up  into  itself  all  the  elements  of  a  traditional 
curriculum  that  have  justified  their  inclusion,  though  in 
absorbing  them  it  may  modify  them  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  In  other  words,  school  reform  is  always  reforma- 
tion, never  revolution.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising 
that  the  evolution  of  the  course  of  study  generally  judged 
suitable  to  a  primary  school  has  in  practice  approached 
very  near  to  the  resxilts  to  which  we  have  been  led  by  a 


40  MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

theoretical  analysis  of  the  main  forms  of  relation  to  man 
and  nature  into  whicli  the  school  shonld  try  to  lead  its 
pupils.  English  Language  and  Literature,  Music,  History, 
Geography,  Nature  Knowledge,  Mathematics,  Art  and 
Handicraft,  are  now  commonly  acknowledged  to  be 
essential  constituents  of  a  liberal  primary  education, 
and  not  alternatives,  as  they  were  regarded  only  a 
few  years  ago.  To  this  result  the  mere  development 
of  tradition  by  experience  might,  however,  have  been 
long  in  coming  had  not  the  progress  been  accelerated 
by  such  theoretical  considerations  as  those  we  have 
examined. 

Yet  the  battle  for  a  Uberal  education  in  the  primary 
school  is  not  altogether  won.  The  '  subjects,'  indeed,  are 
generally  included,  but  too  often  a  wrong  attitude  of 
mind  towards  them  is  adopted  by  all  concerned — by  legis- 
lators, inspectors,  teachers,  and  pupils.  The  old  tradition 
that  knowledge  is  erudition  and  is  distinct  from  practice 
has  in  too  many  cases  not  been  modified  by  the  truer 
doctrine  that  real  knowledge  includes  in  itself  effective 
practice.  So,  though  the  '  subjects '  are  taken  in  school 
lessons,  they  are  treated  in  only  one  of  their  aspects : 
those  which  increase  the  store  of  ideas  are  regarded 
as  serving  that  function  only  ;  those  which  involve  practical 
aptitudes  as  training  them  only.  But  the  curriculum, 
as  we  have  outhned  it,  is  not  really  adopted  unless 
reception  of  idea  and  carrying  out  of  idea  always  go 
hand  in  hand.  In  every  instance  in  which  this  is  not 
secured  no  effective  relation  is  established  between  the 
pupil  and  that  particular  part  of  his  physical  or  mental 
environment. 

9.  Such  a  curriculum  as  has  been  sketched  must  be 
acknowledged  to  make  unduly  heavy  demands  on  the 
teacher  if  the  same  person  is  expected  to  teach   effectively 


MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION.  41 

all  the  subjects  it  includes.  Indeed,  we  may  go  further 
and  assert  that  such  an  expectation  is  nearly  certainly 
doomed  to  disappointment.  It  is  not  that  every  teacher 
UtTsaf  on  of  t)ught  not  to  have  some  knowledge  of  each 
Special  Know-  subject :  that  is  involved  in  the  claim  that 
ledge  of  every   scholar   should  study   them,   for   the 

teacher  is  first  a  scholar.  But  this  general 
knowledge  is  quite  inadequate  for  stimulating  and  fruit- 
ful teaching.  No  one  can  do  good  educative  work  in 
any  subject  of  which  his  knowledge  is  not  copious,  and 
for  which  he  has  not  a  real  liking,  if  not  an  actual  en- 
thusiasm. And  no  one  can  have  a  stimulating  enthusiasm 
for  everything. 

Unhappily,  the  tradition  that  every  primary  teacher  should 
teach  every  subject  taught  in  his  class — a  tradition  dating 
from  the  time  when  the  '  three  R's '  formed  the  whole 
cuiTiculum — still  holds  sway  in  the  majority  of  schools. 
As  a  result  there  prevails  a  grievously  low  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  pertinent  and  special  knowledge  which  must  be 
brought  to  bear  on  every  lesson  to  make  it  effective.  The 
inevitable  result  is  the  very  common  failure  to  awaken  any 
real  love  of  learning  amongst  the  pupils.  Nothing  is  more 
obvious  to  the  thoughtful  observer  than  that  the  teaching 
in  a  primary  school  will  be  wanting  in  effectiveness  and 
success  so  long  as  the  fullest  use  is  not  made  of  any  special 
knowledge,  enthusiasm,  or  aptitude  which  may  exist  among 
the  members  of  its  teaching  staff. 

Surely  the  time  has  come  when  it  should  be  recognised 
that  the  ideal  of  knowledge  for  the  English  primary 
teacher  is  no  longer  to  be  "  Jack  of  all  trades  and  master 
of  none."  He  should  at  least  be  master  of  one,  and  should 
have  acquired  such  an  appreciation  of  the  true  relation  of 
knowledge  to  teaching  as  a  mere  smattering  of  many 
subjects  can  never  give. 


42  MATERIAL    OP    INSTRUCTION. 

10.  Having  laid  down  the  broad  and  general  con- 
tents of  a  satisfactory  scheme  of  primary 
Ajrangement  gtudy,  we  have  next  to  consider  the  general 
Instruction.  principles  on  which  the  matter  contained 
under  these  general  heads  should  be  arranged. 
Here  we  have  obviously  two  inquiries — one  as  to  the 
arrangement  of  subject-matter  within  each  separate  *  sub- 
ject,' and  the  other  as  to  the  relation  of  the  contents  of 
one  subject  to  those  of  another.  The  former  is  essentially 
a  question  of  '  Method '  and  will  be  dealt  with  in  the 
next  chapter.  The  latter  concerns  us  here.  For  it  raises 
the  question  whether  in  choosing  what  we  shall  teach  in 
any  one  subject  we  should  be  guided  by  considerations  of 
what  is  being  taught  to  the  same  pupils  in  other  subjects, 
and  if  so  to  what  extent. 

On   this   point   a   doctrine,   imported    from    Germany, 
seems  to  be  becoming  fashionable  in  books, 
'Concentra-       if   ^ot   in   the    schools    themselves.      It    is 
Studies  '  known  as  '  Concentration  of   Studies,'   and 

its  main  feature  is  that  in  every  class 
one  special  subject  should  be  chosen  as  the  '  core '  of 
instruction,  and  all  other  subjects  should  be  grouped 
round  it  and  brought  into  as  obvious  relations  as 
possible  with  it.  For  example,  a  favourite  '  core '  for 
childi'en  about  ten  years  of  age  is  Bohinson  Crusoe.  On  this 
scheme  the  children  would  read  the  book,  write  composi- 
tion exercises  based  upon  it,  sing  songs  about  Crusoe's 
life,  draw  various  objects  mentioned  in  the  book,  connect 
their  geography  with  Crusoe's  island,  work  sums  expressed 
in  terms  of  Crusoe's  productions  and  occupations,  and  so 
on.  Crusoe  would  appear  as  persistently  in  the  lessons  as 
King  Charles's  head  did  in  Mr.  Dick's  Hterary  productions. 
A  scheme  of  this  kind  appears  fantastic  enough  at  first 
sight,   nor   does   further   acquaintance   lead   to  a  higher 


MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION.  43 

opinion  of  its  -wisdoin.  It  is,  indeed,  a  somewhat  pe- 
dantic attempt  to  apply  to  teaching  a  mechanical  inter- 
pretation of  Herbart's  conception  of  the  nature  of  mind. 
According  to  this  theory,  mind  consists  of  its  ideas, 
and  its  ideas  are  the  result  of  its  interaction  with  the 
world  around  it.  This  has  been  interpreted  to  imply  that 
a  mind  can  be  built  up  by  putting  before  it  ideas,  as  one 
builds  a  house  by  putting  together  bricks,  and  that  its 
form  and  nature  will  be  as  much  determined  by  those 
ideas  and  their  connections  as  a  house  is  by  the  form  and 
arrangement  of  the  bricks  of  which  it  is  composed.  Hence, 
a  unified  mind  will  be  one  whose  ideas  are  all  connected 
with  each  other.  This  connection  is  called  the  '  circle  of 
thought.' 

Such  an  interpretation  finds  no  place  for  the  active 
seekiugs  and  strivings  of  the  mind,  but  reduces  its 
activity  to  the  reception  of  ideas.  Whether  this  is  the 
true  interpretation  of  Herbart's  not  too  lucid  exposition  of 
his  doctrine  does  not  here  concern  us.  But  it  is  obvious 
that  it  is  a  somewhat  violent  proceeding  to  infer  from  this 
that  the  '  circle  of  thought '  out  of  which  the  will  is  sup- 
posed to  spring,  and  which  it  is,  therefore,  the  aim  of 
Herbartian  educative  effort  to  form,  can  be  determined 
solely  by  school  lessons.  Even  if  we  granted  that  ideas 
form  the  mind,  yet  we  must  not  forget  that  there  are  many 
avenues,  often  unsuspected  by  the  teacher,  through  which 
ideas  reach  the  mind.  No  matter  how  carefully  the  teacher 
tries  to  weave  such  ideas  into  the  '  circle  of  thought '  he 
is  attempting  to  form,  he  can  never  be  assured  that  there 
is  not  somewhere  a  break  in  the  circumference  which 
renders  his  efforts  futile. 

Still,  all  this  is  incidental.  The  essential  error  of  the 
theory  is  the  assumption  that  human  life  can  be  built  up 
from  without,  and  its  form  and  tendency  determined  by 


44  MATEEIAL    OF    INSTRTJCTION. 

an  artificial  arrangement  by  another  of  the  ideas  it  is  to 
assimilate.  Tlie  real  unity  of  every  life  is  a  unity  of 
purpose,  just  as  the  essence  of  life  is  the  seeking  means  to 
carry  out  its  purposes.  Now,  unity  of  purpose  is  a  gradual 
attainment :  no  one  ever  fully  reaches  it,  and  most  people 
approach  but  little  way  towards  it.  Even  with  the  ^visest 
of  men  a  wholly  systematised  life  is  rather  an  ideal  of 
thought  and  aspiration  than  a  reality  of  experience.  As 
this  is  so,  it  is  evidently  futile  to  attempt  to  force  on  the 
young  a  unification  of  life  for  which  they  are  of  necessity 
unprepared.  The  young  naturally  apprehend  the  world  in 
fragments,  as  their  impulses  and  purposes  lead  them  to 
deal  with  it.  It  is  only  gradually  that  this  fragmentary 
apprehension  becomes  dominated  by  the  conception  of  law 
and  uniformity,  and  the  passage  from  this  stage  of  under- 
standing the  world  to  that  in  which  it  is  regarded  as  a 
systematic  whole  is  one  which  comes  later  still.'  A  true 
system  of  teaching  must  take  account  of  this  natural  order 
of  mental  growth,  and,  consequently,  will  not  seek  to 
impose  on  the  child  a  premature  unification.  In  short,  in 
any  rational  meaning  of  the  words,  a  '  circle  of  thought ' 
is  neither  possible  nor  desirable  for  the  young  even  if  that 
'circle'  were  the  origin  of  the  will,  and  not  rather  developed 
by  and  through  the  operations  of  will,  so  that  it  is  the 
concrete  form  in  which  the  activities  of  will  are  gradually 
manifested. 

Further,  a  scheme  of  study  arranged  on  the  '  Concen- 
tration '  plan  must  obviously  disregard  any  natural  order 
of  development  which  any  subject,  save  that  which  forms 
the  'core,'  may  demand.  In  many  subjects,  such  as  his- 
toi-y,  mathematics  and  art,  there  is  a  more  or  less  fixed  order 
of  learning,  and  consequently  of  teaching,  demanded  by  the 
subject  itself,  and  if  this  is  not  followed  a  real  set  of 
1  See  Welton,  Logical  Bases  of  Education,  Chap.  I. 


MATERIAL    OF    INSTRUCTION,  45 

relations  within  the  subject  is  sacrificed  to  a  more  or  less 
artificial  set  established  arbitrarily  between  that  subject 
and  others.  Moreover,  as  the  '  core '  is  changed  year  by 
year,  the  '  circle  of  thought '  would  seem  to  be  continually 
reconstituted  round  a  new  centre.  So  impracticable,  indeed, 
does  the  scheme  soon  become  that  even  its  most  ardent  advo- 
cates have  never  succeeded  in  applying  it  to  the  higher  forms 
in  a  secondary  school.  Yet  were  the  scheme  based  on  a 
true  psychological  and  logical  theory  its  applicability  would 
become  easier  as  the  pupils  advance  in  knowledge ;  for 
such  advance  is  before  all  else  advance  in  systematisation 
and  unification,  and  such  vmification  is  the  very  thing 
'  concentration '  aims  at  accomplishing.  But,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  as  the  pupils  attain  a  fuUer  and  really  logical 
unity  in  their  mental  contents,  the  artificial  and  mechanical 
unity  aimed  at  by  '  concentration '  more  and  more  com- 
pletely breaks  down. 

We  must,  then,  reject  the  doctrine  of  '  concentration ' 
as  pedantic,  artificial,  and  illusory.     At  the 

Natiu-al  same  time  we  must  claim  that,  as  the  aim  of 

Correlation  of  .        .  ' 

Knowledge.        teaching  is  to  lead  the  yoimg  to  grasp  the 

general  relations  of  things  about  them,  we 
should  make  prominent  in  our  teaching  real  relations  of 
fact  with  fact  and  of  idea  with  idea.  In  this  way  we  shall 
make  '  subject '  help  '  subject.'  For  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  division  of  knowledge  into  *  subjects '  is 
merely  an  artificial  device  enabling  men  to  specialise  their 
efforts.  There  is  no  corresponding  division  between 
the  contents  of  the  world,  and  every  human  purpose  in  its 
fulfilment  trenches  on  the  domain  of  many  '  subjects,' 
though  the  purpose  itself  may  be  confined  to  one. 

If,  then,  school  work  is  to  correspond  with  real  life  it  must 
not  set  up  rigid  walls  of  demarcation  between  the  various 
Lines  of  mental  and  physical  activity,  but  must  encourage 


46  MATERIAL    OP    INSTEUCTION. 

the  learning  process  to  draw  together  all  pertinent 
material,  and  to  find  scope  in  as  many  ways  as  possible. 
Thus,  history  and  geography  will  always  be  studied  hand 
in  hand,  composition  will  find  its  materials  in  the  content 
of  other  studies  and  in  the  out  of  school  life,  drawing  and 
modelling  will  be  called  in  to  help  nature  study  by  that  more 
definite  apprehension  of  fonn  which  an  attempt  to  reproduce 
it  ensures.  Nor  will  such  correlation  be  confined  to  studies 
simultaneously  pursued ;  every  available  piece  of  life  and 
knowledge  should  be  drawn  into  the  net.  In  short,  all 
modes  of  appropriate  learning  activity  will  be  called  into  play 
by  every  piece  of  teaching,  and  in  this  way  will  be  secured 
the  only  valuable  correlation  of  studies — that  which  estab- 
lishes relations  of  which  the  learning  mind  has  found  the 
necessity  or  the  advantage.  Of  course,  such  apprehension 
of  relations  becomes  fuller  and  wider  as  knowledge  ad- 
vances, for  each  accomplished  purpose  is  the  starting- 
point  for  fresh  efforts  and  new  conquests. 

One  other  point  remains  to  be  noticed.     It  is  evident 

that  as  the  pupils  advance  in  knowledge  and 
Construction  power  the  material  of  their  instruction  should 
Table.  develop  in   depth  and  scope.     In  the  early 

stages  much  time  must,  of  necessity,  be  given 
to  the  acquirement  of  facility  in  using  the  tools  of  learning, 
but  as  mastery  is  acquired  these  tools  should  be  put  to  a 
real  use.  The  school  has  no  time  to  spend  in  "  grinding 
air."  Hence,  in  the  lower  classes  considerable  attention 
must  be  given  to  the  acquirement  of  the  mechanical 
power  of  reading,  writing,  and  spelhng,  and  to  mastery 
of  the  elements  of  computation.  But  as  soon  as  a  pupil 
can  use  freely  these  instruments  of  learning,  merely  formal 
drill  in  them  should  be  replaced  by  application  to  real 
processes  of  learning.  In  the  upper  classes  there  is  no 
place  for  formal  writing  or  spelling  lessons,  nor  for  reading 


MATERIAL    OP    INSTRUCTION.  47 

lessons  whose  sole  aim  is  the  development  of  the  me- 
chanical power  of  expressing  printed  symbols  by  spoken 
words.  Practice  in  the  arts  of  reading  and  writing  is, 
indeed,  still  needed,  but  it  should  be  obtained  through 
reading  and  writing  matter  which,  on  accovmt  of  the  ideas 
expressed,  is  worthy  of  attention.  A  Time-Table  should, 
therefore,  show  a  gradual  decrease  in  the  amount  of  time 
given  to  drill  in  the  use  of  the  tools  of  learning  till  such 
drill  disappears  altogether,  and  a  corresponding  increase  in 
that  devoted  to  the  study  of  material  which  is  in  itself,  and 
because  of  its  contents,  of  value  in  the  cultiire  of  the  mind. 


CHAPTER   III. 


FORM     OF     INSTRUCTION. 

1,  A  WELL  chosen  and  well  arranged  course  of  study 
increases,  and.  to   some  extent,  determines. 
Test  of  the         the  opportunities  of  the  pupil  to  enter  into 
Teaching.  fruitful  relations  with  the  world  in  which  he 

has  to  live.  But  his  education  thereby  is 
secured  only  so  far  as  he  avails  himself  of  those  oppor- 
tunities. In  a  very  true  sense  all  real  education 
is  self-education,  and  all  learning  is  by  doing.  Each 
individual  pupil  must,  by  his  own  effort,  relate  himself  to 
his  environment.  This  implies  that  he  sees  how  he  can 
utilise  this  or  that — thing,  event,  piece  of  knowledge,  idea, 
skill,  or  whatever  it  may  be — to  attain  some  desii-ed  end 
or  to  carry  out  some  cherished  purpose.  It  is  the 
very  essence  of  effective  teaching  to  awaken  desire 
and  to  evoke  purpose.  All  teaching  must,  indeed,  be 
judged  by  the  test  of  how  far  it  succeeds  in  promoting 
persevering  effort  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  to  put  himself 
into  such  relations  with  his  surroundings  as  the  teacher 
desires. 

Whilst  the  pupil  is  a  child  his  activity  is  largely  per- 
ceptual, or  concerned  with  the  material  things 
^®^?®P*'^*^         which   surround  him,  and   with  their  more 
obvious  relations  to  himself,  either  as  giving 
him  some  pleasure  of  taste,  or  sight,  or  hearing,  or  feeling, 
or  of  fui-thering  or  hindering  some  form  of  his  physical 

48 


FOEM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  49 

actirity.  In  these  early  years,  then,  he  learns  largely 
through  physical  activity  of  hand  and  eye  and  ear  and 
voice.  Hence,  good  teaching  of  young  children  appeals  in 
all  suitable  cases  and  ways  to  the  physical  activity  of  each 
pupil,  which  it  so  directs  and  organises  that  the  child  is 
led  to  become  familiar  with  many  relations  between 
himself  and  the  material  world  around  him.  But  it  must 
be  remembered  that  perceptual  acti\ity  is  not  confined  to 
the  use  of  the  hands  and  eyes  in  dealing  with  given  material 
objects.  Such  activity  is  equally  called  into  play  when  in 
speaking,  or  writing,  or  di'awing,  or  modelling,  a  child  re- 
produces his  remembrance  of  the  things  he  has  perceived, 
or  his  idea  of  things  of  which  he  has  heard.  Some  foi-m  of 
reproduction,  therefore,  should  form  a  part  of  every  piece 
of  teaching  through  the  child's  perceptual  activity. 

But   at    no    time    in   school   life   is   a   child's   activity 

solely  perceptual.  In  other  words,  he  con- 
Conceptual  g  himself  not  only  with  things  and  their 
Activity.  .      ,       ,     .  .  °      , 

perceived  relations  m  space,  but  also  with 

their  more  hidden  relations  of  causation  and  purpose. 
As  soon  as  a  child  begins  to  ask  the  '  why '  and  the 
'  how '  of  things  we  may  be  sure  that  he  has  passed 
beyond  the  merely  perceptual  stage,  and  this  generally 
takes  place  not  later  than  his  fifth  year.  By  the  time  he 
enters  the  primary  school  his  perceptual  activity  is  in- 
separably united  with  a  conceptual  activity  of  thought 
which  aims  at  establishing  relations  which  in  their  very 
essence  are  general.  Not  that  the  child  consciously  and 
deliberately  generalises,  but  that  his  interest  passes  beyond 
the  objects  perceived  to  relations  of  cause  and  purpose 
which,  when  once  grasped,  are  applied  unhesitatingly  to 
other  instances.  Such  conceptual  generalisation  is  as 
natural  and  as  spontaneous  as  is  the  perception  of 
colour  or  of  taste.     In   each  case  the  mental  process  is 

PR.  TO  4 


50  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION, 

liable  to  error,  and  a  teacher's  guidance  is,  therefore,  valu- 
able SO  loug  as  the  temptation  to  perceive  or  to  think  for 
the  child,  and  to  impart  to  him  a  form  of  words  embodying 
the  results  of  the  teacher's  activity,  is  resisted.  A  teacher 
can  no  more  perform  for  his  pupils  the  functions  of  mental 
assimilation  than  those  of  physical  digestion.  He  can,  by 
much  insistence,  cause  certain  labels  of  information  to 
adhere  for  a  time — though,  alas  !  they  sometimes  get  woe- 
fully displaced  and  confused;  but  this  no  more  feeds, 
trains,  or  develops  the  mind  than  covering  the  body  with 
adhesive  postage  stamps  would  nourish  or  exercise  it. 

Teaching,  therefore,  does  not  properly  exercise  the 
activity  of  any  normal  child  of  school  age  when  it 
confines  his  activity  to  various  forms  of  physical  doing, 
and  leaves  undirected,  and  therefore  uneducated,  the  more 
important  mental  activity  in  which  his  thought  seeks  for 
relations  between  things.  With  some  children,  no  doubt, 
this  thought  goes  on  nevertheless,  and  in  the  case  of  the 
better  minds  it  in  time  attains  its  goal.  But  there  are 
children  averse  from  mental  activity,  as  there  are  those 
who  are  physically  lazy,  and  with  these  the  very  essence  of 
effective  teaching  is  absent  unless  they  are  stimulated  to 
ask  '  why  ?  '  and  '  how  ?  '  and  to  seek  answers  to  those 
questions. 

Further,  it  is  only  so  far  as  general  relations  are  gi-aspe<.l 
that  individual  things  or  facts  can  be  wrought  into  any 
purpose  whose  accomplishment  is  not  in  the  immediate 
present.  A  boy  may  climb  a  tree  by  merely  perceiving  the 
space  relations  of  branches  and  trunk  and  the  various 
inequalities  of  surface  they  present,  and  apprehending 
much  less  consciously  the  relations  of  strength  to  pressure 
which  render  one  possible  foothold  secure  and  another 
dangerous.  But  if  he  desires  to  do  something  whose 
axjcomplishment    is    more    distant    he   has    to    plan    the 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  61 

means  to  attain  his  purpose,  and  sucli  planning  involves 
the  conception  of  various  general  and  uniform  relations. 
For  example,  a  boy  desiring  to  become  a  good  bowler  in 
cricket  practises  mvich ;  but  in  all  such  practice  he  is 
gradually  establishing  in  his  mind  general  relations  be- 
tween certain  modes  of  delivering  the  ball,  certain  con- 
ditions of  the  wicket,  and  certain  results,  and  the  whole 
process  is  dominated  by  the  general  idea  that  skill  can  only 
come  tlirough  much  practice.  Or  if  he  desires  to  produce 
some  more  tangible  result  than  skill  in  bowling,  say  to 
make  a  toy  yacht,  he  must  apprehend  and  apply  many 
general  relations  which  when  abstractly  stated  we  call  the 
laws  of  physics.  No  doubt,  in  all  such  cases  the  general 
relation  is  found  and  utilised  in  the  particular  example,  so 
long  as  the  process  is  a  familiar  one  or  one  which  can  be 
imitated  from  another.  But  the  power  to  detach  the 
general  relation  from  its  familiar  embodiment  and  to  apply 
it  to  new  conditions  is  shown  whenever  an  adaptation  to 
different  circumstances  is  made. 

Whatever  its  form,  every  activity  which  is  worth  any- 
thing  in    life   is   marked,  not   only   by   an 

xGrS6V6T£lXlC6>  '  •/  •/ 

immediate  effort  put  forth,  but  by  persever- 
ance even  in  the  face  of  obstacles.  Hence,  teaching 
which  aims  simply  at  the  present,  and  is  satisfied  by 
winning  the  '  attention '  of  the  pupils  and  exciting  their 
'  interest '  by  various  attractive  devices,  is  of  the  smallest 
educative  value.  Indeed,  there  is  in  such  cases  neither 
true  attention  nor  true  interest,  for  the  essence  of  both  is 
permanence  of  direction  in  effort.  In  such  lessons  the 
pupils  may  be  '  interested '  in  the  common  but  inaccurate 
sense  of  being  pleasurably  excited,  but  not  in  the  true  and 
educative  sense  of  being  inspired  with  a  purpose  to  know 
or  to  do.  Without  inspiration  of  purpose  there  can  be  no 
true  educative  activity,  for  nothing  else  leads  the  pupil  to 


52  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

put  forth  persevering  effort  to  attain  a  result  in  wliich  lie 
is  interested,  tliat  is,  whicli  lie  feels  to  be  of  value.  It 
follows  that  in  effective  teaching  the  pupils  both  know  and 
desire  the  object  the  teaching  is  intended  to  attain.  It 
may  be  true  that  not  every  pupil  Avill  be  led  to  desire 
eveiy  piece  of  knowledge  or  every  form  of  skill  the 
teacher  places  within  his  reach,  but  it  is  certainly  the 
case  that  no  such  desire  can  be  evoked  in  any  pupil 
who  does  not  know  what  the  teaching  is  meant  to  ac- 
complish. To  evoke  desire  without  indicating  anticipated 
effect  is  impossible. 

The  test  of  all  teaching  is,  then,  the  extent  to  which  it 
evokes  purpose,  and  so  excites  and  directs  the  fullest 
activity  of  thought  of  which  the  pupils  are  capable 
towards  the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose. 

2.  This  implies  that  effective  teaching  is  methodical, 
for  method  is  not  a  dead  arrangement  of 
Characteristics  facts  in  a  teacher's  note-book,  but  a  living 
Method,  process  of  thought  in  the  pupil's  mind,  by 

which  he  advances  towards  a  definite  end 
along  the  best  and  most  effective  way.  Methodical  teach- 
ing is  that  which  secures  methodical  learning.  The 
teacher  is  like  a  guide,  and  the  ptipil  like  a  traveller  in  an 
unknown  country.  The  traveller  knows  where  he  wants  to 
go,  but  knows  neither  the  way  nor  the  exact  character  of 
the  place  he  wishes  to  reach.  The  guide  knows  both, 
and  plans  the  journey  so  as  to  set  out  from  where  the 
traveller  now  is  and  to  reach  where  he  desires  to  be,  and 
that  by  the  best  way.  Such  plotting  out  of  the  journey  is 
analogous  to  the  teacher's  laying  down  his  course  of 
instruction  in  any  subject  with  its  order  of  topics  and 
arrangement  of  matter.  But  unless  the  traveller — that  is 
the  pupil — take  the  journey  himself,  nothing  is  accom- 
plished.    Many  a  lesson  is  too  much  like  a  guide  describing 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  53 

the  journey  to  the  Avould-be  traveller,  who  sits  and  listens 
but  does  not  leave  his  chair  to  undertake  it.  In  other 
lessons  the  guide  himself  laboriously  takes  the  journey 
again  and  again,  but  the  traveller  that  should  be  remains 
inert.  In  short,  no  matter  how  admirably  a  lesson  is 
planned,  there  is  no  really  methodical  teaching  unless  the 
pupils  by  their  own  efforts  pass  along  the  road  traced 
for  them;  for,  as  has  been  said,  true  teaching  is  nothing 
but  arousing  and  directing  the  learning  activity  of 
another. 

The  first  step  in  effective  teaching  is,  then,  to  take  the 
Purpose.  pi^ipils  into  working  partnership  in  the  process, 

to  let  them  see  as  far  as  they  can  why  they 
should  try  to  learn  this  or  that.  Of  course,  it  is  not  meant 
that  the  teacher  should  put  before  his  pupils  an  abstract 
statement  of  the  beneficial  results  he  hopes  and  expects 
his  teaching  to  have.  That  would  defeat  his  own  object, 
for  such  a  statement  would  not  appeal  at  all  to  the  young. 
But  he  should  endeavour  to  make  his  pupils  see  that  the 
new  knowledge  or  skill  will  be  of  some  worth  to  them,  in 
that  it  will  help  them  to  understand  and  to  do  things 
worth  understanding  and  doing.  This  is  not  so  hard  as  it 
would  be  were  children  not,  as  a  rule,  keen  to  learn  how  to 
do  what  they  see  others  do,  and  to  understand  what  is 
understood  by  those  around  them.  This  wish  to  put 
themselves  on  a  par  with  others  is  in  itself  a  spur  to  effort 
from  which  the  learning  process  may  start,  and  to  which 
the  teacher  may  explicitly  or  implicitly  appeal.  When 
once  the  start  is  made,  the  growing  skill  or  knowledge 
has  in  itself  a  propulsive  force,  so  that  the  will  to  in- 
crease it  arises  and  grows  stronger,  if  only  the  skill  or 
knowledge  is  constantly  utilised  and  applied,  as  soon  as 
it  is  acquired,  in  ways  of  which  the  pupil  can  appreciate 
the  value. 


54  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

Of  course,  teacher  and  pupil  are  in  very  different 
relations  to  the  end  sought.  The  teacher  knows  it  clearly 
and  definitely.  But  in  the  pupil's  mind  the  end  is 
relatively  vague  and  indetenninate.  It  is  desired,  because 
it  is  connected  with  relations  already  known  and  whose 
value  has  been  proved,  and  because  it  is  looked  upon  as  a 
further  step  in  the  attainment  of  some  desired  form  of 
knowledge  or  skill.  The  teacher,  for  example,  may  inspire 
a  pupil  with  the  desire  to  know  how  to  make  a  kite,  or  to 
swim,  or  to  be  able  to  speak  and  read  French.  But  the 
very  fact  that  such  things  are  objects  of  desire  implies 
that  they  are  not  yet  attained.  Hence  the  learner's  appre- 
hension of  the  end  to  be  sought  is  necessarily  vague  and 
indeterminate.  This  vagueness  is  greater  in  some  cases 
than  in  others,  and,  speaking  generally,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  younger  the  learner  the  less  is  tlie  amount  of 
vagueness  which  is  compatible  with  the  rousing  of  de- 
sire. Unless,  however,  the  teacher's  apprehension  of  the 
end  sought  is  in  every  case  clear  and  determinate,  his 
teaching  must  lack  both  point  and  method.  Either  the , 
end  will  not  be  attained  under  his  guidance,  or  if  it  is  more 
or  less  accidentally  reached  it  will  be  only  after  much 
wandering  by  the  way. 

This  leads  us  to  the  second  characteristic  of  good  method 

— that  the  effort  excited  by  the  desire  to  ^^ 
Effort™^  attain  a  particular   end   should  be  so  sus-    r 

tained  and  utilised  that  as  little  as  possible 
of  it  is  wasted.  Waste  of  effort  may  obviously  result 
either  from  starting  from  the  wrong  point  or  from 
wandering  by  the  way.  The  beginning  of  a  piece  of 
teaching  should,  therefore,  make  the  fullest  use  of  what 
the  pupil  has  already  acquired,  without  assuming  those 
acquirements  to  be  greater  than  they  really  are,  and  should 
then  go  on  regularly  and  continuously  towards  the  end  in 


FORM    OP    INSTRUCTION.  55 

view.     There  is  thus  laid  down  for  the  pupil  the  direct 

path  along  which  his  thoughts  should  travel. 

Having,  then,  set  an  aim  before  the  pupil  and  inspired 

him   with  a   desire  to   attain   it,  the   next 

Prompt  essential  is  that  the  learning  process  should 

Beginning.  .  .  . 

begin    promptly.      Particularly   is   this   the 

case  with  young  children  who  can  look  but  a  very  short 
way  ahead,  and  whose  attention  even  when  aroused  is 
easily  diverted  into  other  channels.  A  teacher  may  easily 
damp  the  interest  excited  by  his  indication  of  the  object 
of  the  proposed  teaching  by  floundering  about  at  the  be- 
ginning like  a  racehorse  making  a  number  of  false 
starts. 

There  are  two  very  common  forms  of  such  floundering. 
One  is  the  traditional  '  introduction '  to  a  lesson,  which 
usually  consists  in  an  endeavour  to  'elicit'  from  the 
pupils  a  verbal  statement  of  the  subject  of  the  lesson, 
carefully  hidden  in  the  teacher's  mind.  Such  a  beginning 
violates  both  the  essentials  of  good  method  we  have 
considered — felt  purpose  and  definite  start.  The  teacher 
asks  a  vague  question  in  the  hope  that  amongst  the  guesses 
of  the  pupils  the  name  of  the  subject  on  which  he  intends 
to  speak  may  be  found.  When  it  is,  he  is  satisfied  and 
believes  he  has  excited  the  self-activity  of  the  pupils.  For 
example,  a  teacher  once  began  a  lesson  by  asking  the  pupils 
"  What  did  you  have  for  breakfast  ?  "  Of  course  he  got 
dozens  of  answers,  but  not  the  one  he  wanted,  so  after 
some  ten  minutes  he  exclaimed  with  some  heat,  "  Well,  you 
ougJd  to  have  had  coffee !  " — for  coffee  was  the  subject  of 
his  lesson.  Now,  if  such  an  instance  is  considered,  it  will 
be  seen  that  in  addition  to  the  waste  of  time  involved  there 
was  nothing  but  dissipation  of  the  pupils'  attention,  or 
rather  there  was  no  real  attention  at  all,  for  there  was  no 
effort  to  advance   in   any  definite   direction.      Moreover, 


3 


66  FORM    OP    INSTRUCTION. 

had  tlie  word  'coffee'  been  among  the  pupils'  answers 
nothing  would  have  been  gained.  The  mental  process  in 
reaching  that  answer  would  have  been  exactly  the  same 
as  in  reaching  the  undesired  answers — mere  guessing — 
and  of  no  more  worth.  The  excitement  of  guessing  which 
such  a  mode  of  beginning  a  lesson  arouses  is  too  often 
mistaken  for  what  is  really  the  exact  opposite  of  it — true 
educative  interest.  The  latter  implies  effort  to  reach  a 
desired  end ;  the  former  has  no  end  to  seek. 

The  second  common  mode  of  wasting  time  and  of  lulling 
to  sleep  any  interest  which  may  have  been  raised  by  a 
clear  statement  of  the  pui'pose  of  the  teaching  is  an  over- 
elaborate  '  preparation '  of  the  pupils'  minds  to  receive  the 
teaching.  In  this,  the  teacher  questions  the  class  so  as  to 
bring  forth  everything  known  which  bears  in  any  way  on 
any  part  of  the  lesson.  Time  and  energy  are  thus  wasted 
in  the  hope  of  avoiding  such  waste  in  the  future. 
But  even  this  is  not  necessarily  assured,  for  the  class  has 
not  one  mind,  but  many  minds,  and  the  '  preparation '  is 
unlikely  to  have  been  equally  effective  with  all.  Moreover, 
by  wandering  all  over  the  proposed  lesson  so  as  to  get  the 
relations  of  each  part  ready  before  the  teaching  is  begun,  the 
attention  of  the  pupils  is  hindered  from  advancing.  The 
attitude  of  mind  evoked  is  often  not  very  different  from 
that  induced  in  the  former  case,  and  there  is  at  best  a  mere 
marking  of  time.  And  marking  time  mentally  is  as  ineffec- 
tive and  as  tedious  as  doing  it  bodily  :  no  process  is  more 
capable  of  deadening  true  interest  and  destroying  incipient 
effort. 

Let  the  teacher,  then,  having  so  placed  his  object  before 
his  pupils  as  to  rouse  in  them  the  desire  to  make  the  at- 
tainment of  that  object  their  own,  as  briefly  and  concisely 
as  possible  pick  up  the  thread  of  knowledge  and  get  the 
pupils  into  the  line  of  thought  which   leads  from  their 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  57 

present  acquirements  to  the  new  end.  The  better  the 
teacher  knows  his  class  the  more  accurately  and  quietly 
can  he  do  this.  When  his  class  is  strange  to  him,  he 
may  be  aided  by  the  experience  of  the  previous  teacher,  but 
in  no  case  can  his  start  be  as  sure  or  as  sharp  as  when  he 
is  teaching  pupils  he  knows.  In  both  cases  it  is  obvious 
that  this  starting-point  must  be  known  before  the  plan- 
ning of  the  lesson  can  be  profitably  begun.  It  is  this 
determination  of  the  starting-point,  this  power  of  putting 
oneself  in  the  mental  place  and  attitude  of  the  pupils, 
that  mai'ks  off  the  true  artist  in  teaching  from  the  mere 
mechanical  grinder  of  facts  and  formulae.  To  know  where 
the  pupils  are  and  where  they  should  try  to  be  are  the  two 
first  essentials  of  good  teaching. 

But  to  avoid  waste  of  time  and  energy  at  the  beginning 

^  ,    ,   „  of  the  lesson  is  only  half  the  battle.     Grood 

Orderly  Process.  ,       ,  .  ,  .  ^ -^         ,  .        , 

teachmg  also  avoids  such  waste  m  the  pas- 
sage. Skill  is  here  required  in  keeping  the  pupils  to  the 
right  path  without  hampering  that  free  self-activity  in 
learning  which  it  is  the  essence  of  good  teaching  to  pro- 
mote. There  can  be  little  hope  of  success  unless  the 
teacher  has  previously  plotted  out  the  matter  of  in- 
struction, first  under  general  topics,  then  into  lesser 
portions,  till  he  has  reached  the  smallest  steps  of  in- 
dividual lessons.  These  divisions  must  follow  one  from 
the  other,  so  as  gradually  to  build  up  a  systematic  whole  of 
knowledge  or  an  organised  habit  of  skill.  This  is  a  logical 
question,  in  the  broad  acceptation  of  that  term. 

Having  thus  plotted  out  the  scheme  of  instruction  the 
teacher  must  next  consider  how  the  pupils  wdth  whom  he 
has  to  deal  can  be  led  to  assimilate  this  system  of  know- 
ledge, or  to  acquire  this  organised  skill.  The  first  essential 
is  to  apportion  the  amount  to  be  mastered  in  each  lesson  to 
the  capacity  of  the  pupils.     To  give  too  much  means  hurry, 


58  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION, 

and,  as  a  probable  result,  those  sham  lessons  in  which  the 
teacher  travels  through  the  matter,  but  the  pupils  do  not. 
If  too  little  is  planned,  there  is  not  only  the  actual  waste 
of  time,  but  the  probability  of  deadening  interest  in  the 
subject  as  a  whole,  and  of  cultivating  a  habit  of  mental 
inertia  which  is  one  of  the  saddest  products  of 
the  school.  This  question  of  amount  is,  of  course,  a 
psychological  one,  but  it  must  be  decided  by  familiarity 
with  particular  children,  not  on  general  psychological 
grounds. 

In  the  next  place,  the  teacher  must  consider  how  these 

particular  pupils  can  most  effectively  be  led 
Learning.  ^^  ^^^6  ^.he  mental  steps  desired,  and  the 

answer  to  this  will,  of  covirse,  vary  with  every 
lesson.  This  part  of  the  teacher's  preparation  for  his  teach- 
ing is  also  psychological,  for  he  has  first  to  ask  himself  what 
form  of  mental  effort  is  needed,  and  then  to  consider  how 
he  may  stimulate  that  effort.  Yet,  no  matter  how  carefully 
all  this  may  have  been  thought  over  beforehand,  the  true 
teacher  is  always  ready  to  adopt  other  means  which  may  sug- 
gest themselves  of  promj)ting  his  pupils  to  the  right  form 
of  effort.  He  must  keep  in  mind  the  direction  their  thoughts 
should  take,  and  when  he  sees  a  tendency  to  diverge  into 
side  issues,  set  them  again  in  the  right  path  by  suggesting 
a  line  of  thought  which  leads  back  to  the  main  track  if 
the  divergence  has  not  been  serious,  or  by  stopping  short 
and  reminding  them  of  the  original  purpose  of  the  lesson 
if  it  has  been.  Of  course,  this  latter  event  shows  that 
the  teacher  has  followed  the  pupils'  lead  somewhat  blindly, 
but  such  cases  will  occasionally  happen,  and  then  the  best 
thing  is  to  return  as  soon  as  possible.  This  wandering 
by  the  way,  which  is  a  marked  feature  of  most  conversa- 
tions, is  more  likely  to  occur  in  conversational  lessons  than 
in  any  other.     It   is    most   mischievous  in  lessons  which 


FORM    OF"    INSTRUCTION.  59 

develop  a  line  of  reasoning,  and  in  these  the  teacher  must 
be  specially  on  his  guard  to  avoid  it ;  but  in  lessons  whose 
aim  is  to  increase  knowledge  of  some  object  which  has 
many  featm-es  worthy  of  notice,  a  less  rigid  line  of  advance 
is  demanded,  and  a  lesson  should  not  be  condemned  as 
desultory  and  wandering  because  it  docs  not  treat  these  in 
any  special  order,  but  only  if  it  neglects  to  bring  all  the 
items  into  true  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the  whole. 

The  educational  object  of  arranging  the  matter  of 
instruction  is  that  the  pupils'  minds  in  assimilating  it  may 
develop  a  systematic  whole,  and  may  be  aided  in  putting 
forth  real  attentive  effort.  There  are  many  obstacles  wliicli 
a  good  teacher  will  leave  his  pupils  to  overcome  for  them- 
selves, but  the  task  of  arranging  the  subject-matter  of 
learning  is  a  difficulty  which  must  not  be  left  to  them  to 
deal  with,  for  it  is  one  which  can  only  be  properly  mastered 
when  the  whole  which  is  to  be  arranged  is  known.  This, 
then,  is  pre-eminently  the  teacher's  work.  To  leave  the  child 
to  discover  everything  for  himself  without  guidance  would 
be  an  absurd  and  fatal  blunder;  but  equally  absurd  and  fatal 
is  it  to  do  the  lessons  in  his  presence  and  only  demand  his 
acquiescence.  Nearly  as  fatal  is  it  to  attempt  to  remove  all 
obstacles  from  his  path.  When  the  teacher  is  always 
at  hand  to  tell,  to  suggest,  to  question,  the  pupil  learns 
to  rely  on  him  for  the  solution  of  every  difficulty  im- 
mediately it  presents  itself;  and  not  being  trained  to 
methodical  attention,  he  never  realises  the  idea  of  method 
and  of  persevering  effort,  for  he  never  sees  more  than  the 
one  step  he  is  actually  taking.  He  starts  with  a  purpose, 
perhaps,  but  he  loses  sight  of  it  in  following  the  too 
minute  instructions  of  his  teacher.  He  is  like  a  blind 
man  who  travels  along  a  road,  not  by  seeing  where  he  is 
going,  but  by  planting  each  step  according  to  the  detailed 
instructions  of  another.     Children,  like  men  and  women, 


60  FOKM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

must  work  out  their  own  intellectual  salvation,  and  they 
cannot  do  this  unless  they  are  largely  left  alone  to  grapple 
Avith  their  own  giants  and  to  overthrow  them. 

Methodical  teaching,  therefore,  means  the  promotion  of 
methodical  learning,  that  is  of  concentrated  persevering 
effort  directed  towards  the  attainment  of  a  felt  purpose 
and  guided  in  general  direction,  but  in  no  case  replaced,  by 
the  more  copious  knowledge  and  more  fully  developed 
power  of  the  teacher. 

Where  teaching  has  exhibited  the  characteristics  of  good 
method  just  considered,  the  final  mark  of 
Effective  effectiveness  is  not  hard  to  secure.     Effec- 

tive  teachmg  implies  effective  learning,  that 
is,  the  development  of  some  form  of  power.  Such  increase 
of  power  may  be  shown  in  greater  ability  to  understand 
certain  aspects  of  the  world,  in  greater  skill  in  doing  this 
or  that,  in  deeper  sympathy  with  the  good,  in  fuller 
appreciation  of  beauty,  indeed,  in  any  enrichment  of  the 
life  of  the  pupils.  Each  piece  of  teaching  deals  with  some 
kind  of  relation  between  the  pupils  and  their  world,  and 
it  is  effective  just  so  far  as  it  helps  them  to  deal  better  with 
that  class  of  relations  in  the  present  and  in  the  future. 

It  is  obvious,  then,  that  the  success  of  much  of 
the  most  important  teaching  cannot  be  gauged  at  all 
by  the  pupils'  power  to  talk  about  its  subject-matter. 
This  is  an  age  of  talk,  and  many  people  seem  to 
think  that  to  give  children  power  to  talk  implies 
the  development  of  capacity  to  do.  The  success  of 
lessons  on  health  has  been  judged  by  the  worth  of 
essays  on  various  parts  of  the  subject  written  by  the 
pupils.  But  an  excellent  essay  on  cleanliness,  written 
by  a  boy  who  has  neglected  to  clean  himself,  is  certainly 
no  proof  of  effective  teaching.  In  short,  the  test  of 
effectiveness  must  be  appropriate  to  the  matter  tested. 


FORM    OP    INSTRUCTION.  61 

This  suggests  that  the  methods  of  securing  effectiveness 
will  be  various.  When  new  information  has  been  im- 
parted, the  fruitfulness  of  the  learning  is  shown  by  the 
power  to  reproduce  the  essential  features  of  it  in  a  rational 
connection,  and  by  the  will  as  well  as  the  power  to  use 
this  acquired  knowledge  as  the  basis  of  further  advance  : 
to  sucli  organisation  and  application  of  knowledge  the 
teacher  must  try  to  lead  his  pupils.  When  the  teaching 
has  aime<l  cliietiy  at  increasing  the  understanding  of  matter 
already  familiar,  its  success  is  shown  by  the  clearness 
and  accuracy  of  the  explanatory  ideas  the  pupils  have 
grasped,  and  by  the  power  to  see  the  direction  in  which 
such  ideas  may  be  expected  to  explain  yet  other  of  these 
phenomena :  to  securing  clearness  of  idea  and  readiness 
in  application,  therefore,  must  the  teacher  dh-ect  his 
efforts.  When  the  teaching  aims  at  increase  of  construc- 
tive or  executive  skill,  its  effectiveness  is  seen  in  the 
gradual  perfection  of  the  adaptation  of  movement  to  end 
sought  and  in  the  growing  difficidty  and  remoteness  of 
such  end :  to  secure  continuously  increasing  perfection 
must  here  be  the  teacher's  aim. 

In  all  cases  it  is  evident  that  growth  in  effective  learning 
is  gradua  1  and  continuous .  Consequently ,  effective  teaching 
must  be  continuous  and  well  graded.  The  not  uncommon 
practice  of  treating  each  year's  work  as  a  whole  in  itself, 
and  neglecting  to  connect  it  with  previous  years'  work, 
is  fatal  to  true  effectiveness.  Further,  the  results  of 
teaching  must  be  sought  in  a  growing  power  of  apprehen- 
sion, of  understanding,  and  of  skill,  and  not  merely, 
or  mainly,  in  the  mastery  of  fresh  matter,  a  mastery 
which  too  often  is  no  more  complete  in  the  upper 
classes  of  a  school  than  in  the  lower:  the  matter  dealt 
with  is  different,  the  power  to  deal  with  it  remains 
stationary. 


62  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

3.  Coucerniug  the  proper  order  of  instruction  certain 
maxims  have  become  traditional.     Thus  we 

(1)    Proceed    from     the    known     to     the 
unknown. 

(2)  Proceed  from  the  easy  to  the  more  difficult. 

(3)  Proceed  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract. 
(1)  Proceed  from  the  empirical  to  the  rational. 

(5)  Proceed  from  the  simple  to  the  complex. 

(6)  Proceed  from  the  indefinite  to  the  definite. 

Stated  thus  abstractly  such  maxims  may  lead  the  teacher 
wrong  as  often  as  they  lead  him  right.  For  neither  the 
scope  nor  the  point  of  their  application  is  uniform. 

The  first  merely  implies  that  new  knowledge  is  ap- 
prehended in  the  light  of  old  knowledge 
Proceed  from  ^,^(1  that  the  two  should  be  united  in  an 
the  Unknown,  organic  whole.  It  is,  therefore,  merely  a 
summary  way  of  saying  that  the  teacher 
should  arrange  the  subject-matter  of  instruction  so  that 
each  part  is  properly  connected  with  what  precedes  it. 
But  it  gives  no  hint  that  this  merely  serial  arrangement 
is  insufficient,  and  thus  it  is  imperfect  even  as  a  maxim 
regulative  of  the  presentation  of  new  knowledge.  To 
teaching  whose  object  is  not  the  acquirement  of  new 
knowledge  the  maxim  has  no  application  at  all ;  and 
as  a  statement  of  what  goes  on  in  the  child's  mind  it 
is  obviously  false,  for  in  knowledge  the  child's  progress  is 
towards  making  known  what  was  before  unknown. 

The  second  maxim  is  true  in  a  very  broad  sense,  but  it 
leaves  open  the  whole  question  as  to  what  is 

Proceed  from     « g^sy  '   and   what    is   '  difficult.'      Moreover, 
the  Easy  to  the  .  ,,  <•    i    •         -i.    •       v        xi     j.  i 

more  Difficult.    ^^  matters  ot  doing  it  implies  that  grada- 
tion should   be  sought  in  the  objects  dealt 
with    rather    than    in    the    skill    in    dealing   with   them. 


FORJI    OF    INSTRUCTION.  63 

This  is  never  more  thau  half  the  truth  and  is  often 
wholly  false.  A  young  child,  for  example,  will  draw 
similar  objects  to  those  drawn  by  his  more  advanced 
schoolmates,  but  he  will  draw  them  less  well.  The  power 
of  using  legs,  arms,  and  hands  becomes  more  perfect  by 
practice,  but  in  many  cases  such  practice  does  not  demand 
gradation  in  the  objects  on  which  it  is  exercised.  In 
matters  of  understanding  the  maxim  can  only  be  accepted 
with  important  reservations.  As  Bacon  long  ago  pointed 
out,  there  are  cases  in  which  it  is  well  to  plunge  first  into 
the  more  difiicult  parts  of  a  subject  and  then  the  easier 
parts  will  be  of  the  nature  of  recreation.  And  it  is  certain 
that  no  branch  of  study  can  be  followed  properly  if  an 
attempt  is  made  to  arrange  its  subject-matter  simply  in 
the  order  of  difiiculty. 

The  third  and  fourth  maxims  apply  rather  to  the 
Proceed  from  general  order  of  human  acquirements  than 
the  Concrete  to  anything  more  specific.  Man  begins  by 
stract."^^'  appi-ehending  things  and  passes  on  slowly 
Proceed  from      aiid   gradually   to   understanding   them    as 

the  Empirical    parts  of  the  world  around  him.     The  thinc^s 
to  the  Kational.  ,i       ,  ,-,■,.  ^ 

are  the  'concrete,  and  his  first  apprehen- 
sion of  them  is  empirical,  that  is,  he  experiences  them  and 
becomes  familiar  with  them,  but  he  does  not  understand 
their  nature,  nor  does  he  grasp  their  place  and  function 
in  the  world.  Such  understanding,  however,  soon  begins  to 
arise,  and  the  first  step  is  the  consideration  of  things  not  as 
wholes,  but  in  particular  aspects  or  relations.  These  are  the 
'abstract.'  But  one  cannot  rest  satisfied  there.  One  cannot 
reduce  one's  world  to  mere  empty  relations  which  may 
be  calmly  viewed  by  the  intellect,  but  which  make  no 
appeal  to  the  feehngs,  the  desires,  or  the  will.  One  finds 
the  abstract  in  the  concrete  merely  that  one  may  more  fullv 
understand  the  concrete.     And  in  so  far  as  one  thus  see's 


64  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

abstract  and  concrete  as  one  organic  whole  one's  concep- 
tion lias  become  rational.  Hence,  to  attempt  to  apply  the 
maxim,  "  Proceed  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract,"  indis- 
criminately to  teaching  would  be  a  serious  error.  In  some 
lessons  we  do  start  with  the  concrete  and  by  analysis  reach 
the  abstract.  But  this  is  only  half  the  process.  Such 
lessons  must  always  be  followed  by  others  in  which  the 
order  is  reversed  and  in  which  we  use  the  abstract  we 
have  obtained  to  explain  other  concretes. 

The  maxim,  "  Proceed  from  the  empirical  to  the  rational," 
is  true,  but  in  its  abstract  form  it  is  so  full  an  expression 
of  the  order  of  the  development  of  knowledge  that  it  is  but 
an  indefinite  guide  to  teaching.  For  it  is  obvious  that  the 
advance  can  never  be  fully  made  in  one  lesson,  nor  indeed 
during  school  life,  especially  school  life  which  ends  at 
fourteen  years  of  age.  In  its  full  sense  it  never  is  made, 
and  never  will  be  made  till  human  knoAvledge  is  com- 
plete. The  maxim  may  serve,  however,  as  a  useful 
suo-o-estion  to  teachers  to  inspire  their  pupils  not  to  rest 
satisfied  with  mere  experience  and  familiarity,  but  to  try  to 
understand  the  meanings  of  things  about  them,  so  far  as 
the  Hmitations  of  their  knowledge  and  mental  power  make 
it  possible  for  them  to  do  so. 

The  fifth  maxim  describes  somewhat  crudely  the  develop- 
ment of  ideas  in  the  mind.  A  child's  empi- 
Proceed  from  ^ical  apprehension  of  objects  is  *  simple,' 
theConn)rex°  because  he  has  not  by  analysis  discovered 
their  complexity.  When  he  has  found  many 
'abstracts'  in  a  'concrete'  and  again  built  up  the 
concrete  by  putting  together  those  abstracts  his  idea  has 
become  complex.  But  the  object  has  remained  the  same 
all  along.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  the  applica- 
tion of  this  maxim  to  the  arrangement  of  the  subject- 
matter  of  instruction  has  led  to  some  of  the  worst  methods 


FORM    OF    INSTRITOTION.  65 

of  teaching  the  world  has  ever  seen,  as,  for  example,  to  the 
beginning  a  foreign  language  by  a  minute  and  ordered  study 
of  the  grammar,  with  copious  exercises  on  every  point ;  to 
the  beginning  geometry  with  abstract  definitions,  postu- 
lates, and  axioms  ;  to  the  *  alphabetic '  system  of  teaching 
to  read ;  to  the  teaching  of  drawing  by  elaborate  and  long- 
continued  exercises  on  straight  lines,  then  combinations 
of  straight  lines,  and  so  on,  to  more  '  complex '  figures,  on 
the  ground  that  the  line  is  the  '  simplest '  element  of 
form.  So  it  is  in  the  sense  that  it  is  the  ultimate  result 
of  the  analysis  of  form.  But  as  the  child  does  not  natur- 
ally make  this  analysis  its  results  are  not  '  simplest '  to 
him  in  the  sense  of  being  most  easily  apprehended. 

But,  it  may  be  m-ged,  the  maxim  is  siirely  applicable  to  the 
acquirement  of  skilful  and  complex  movements.  This  must 
also  be  largely  denied.  Nothing  is  more  obvious  to  one 
who  observes  than  that,  in  learning  to  do  anything,  the 
first  attempts  are  marked  by  a  great  exuberance  of  move- 
ment, and  that  as  skill  is  acquired  many  of  these  move- 
ments, being  found  unnecessary  and  at  times  inconvenient, 
are  discontinued.  The  movement  as  it  becomes  more  per- 
fect becomes  actually  simpler.  Watch  a  child  learning 
to  write  and  note  how  many  needless,  and  even  hindering, 
movements  of  head,  tongue,  and  body  he  makes,  which 
he  will  gradually  drop  as  he  acquires  the  art.  No  doubt 
in  learning  to  do  things,  gradation  in  difficulty  is  often 
good,  but  to  give  this  as  the  meaning  of  the  maxim  would 
be  to  make  it  a  mere  synonym  of  "  Proceed  from  the  easy 
to  the  more  difficult."  If  regarded  as  applying  to  the 
organisation  of  instruction  the  maxim  is,  therefore,  either 
false  or  unnecessary. 

The  sixth  maxim  also  deals,  not  with  the  arrangement 
of  subject-matter,  but  with  the  development  of  ideas  in 
the  child's  mind.     To  use  it,  therefore,  as  a  guide  to  the 

PR.  IQ.  5 


66  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

plotting  out  of   the  curriculum  is  to  fall  into  a  serious 
mistake.      All   teaching   should    deal    with 
Proceed  from     definite  subject-matter,  but  the  child's  ideas 
to  toe  ^  °^  ^^^^  matter — like  his  skiU  in   acquiring 

Definite.  movements — become  more  perfect  as  he  ad- 

vances from  the  empirical  to  the  rational  stage 
of  knowledge,  and  such  increased  perfection  of  ideas  wiU 
be  marked  by  increased  power  of  clear  expression.  This, 
therefore,  the  teacher  should  expect  as  one  of  the  results 
of  his  teaching. 

A  maxim  less  frequently  accepted  by  English  teachers 
is  that  the  education  of  the   child   should 
"^^  agree  in  its  sequence  with  that  of  the  race. 

of  the  Child  This  has  very  important  limitations.  In  his 
is  Parallel  to  mental  life  the  child  does,  indeed,  bear  some 
■£^^QQ  resemblance  to  the  savage.     But  still  more 

important  are  the  differences ;  the  child  is 
after  all  a  child,  whilst  the  savage  is  an  adult,  and  no 
theorising  can  eliminate  this  essential  difference.  Nor  can 
any  theorising  negate  the  difference  between  the  state  of 
civilisation  which  surrounds  the  child  and  that  of  ignorance 
and  superstition  which  surrounds  the  savage.  To  attempt 
to  arrange  the  curriculum,  then,  mainly  under  the  guid- 
ance of  this  exaggerated  parallelism  in  development  of  child 
and  race  is  futile.  Such  attempts  are  mainly  made  by 
those  who  try  to  apply  a  theory  of  '  concentration.'  These 
usually  make  their  core  of  instruction  literary- historical, 
and  arrange  it  in  accordance  with  this  supposed  parallelism, 
whilst  the  order  of  teaching  all  other  subjects  is  determined 
by  relations  to  this  core.  If  nothing  else  showed  the 
hopeless  artificiality  of  the  arrangement,  the  fact  that  the 
parallelism  is  completed  by  the  time  the  child  leaves  the 
primary  school  at  fourteen  would  do  so,  for  nothing  is  more 
certain  than  that  the  child,  at  that  age,  has  not  entered 


FORM    OP    INSTRUCTION.  &7 

into  the  full  heritage  of  the  race ;  he  has  not  attained 
maturity  of  mind  any  more  than  he  has  reached  the 
physical  stature  and  powers  of  manhood. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  such  maxims  of  method  as  we 
have  briefly  considered  are  of  very  limited  value.  As 
summing  up  certain  aspects  of  empirical  pieces  of  teaching 
they  lay  down  some  occasional  conditions  of  success.  But 
they  ostensibly  lay  them  down  as  universally  true,  thougli 
their  truth  is  really  only  particular  and  special.  They  are 
thus  misleading  and  suggest  bad  teaching  quite  as  easily 
as  good. 

4.  It  is  obvious,  then,  that  something  more  definite  than 
the  traditional  maxims  is  needed  as  a  guide 
Psychological  to  method.  And  it  follows  from  the  concep- 
Method.  tion  of  teaching  as  correlative  with  learning 

that  such  guidance  must  be  based  on  an 
analysis  of  the  way  in  which  the  mind  proceeds  in  evolving 
knowledge  out  of  its  experience. 

Such  an  analysis  yields  the  broad  result  that  knowledge 
begins  in  experience,  and  grows  through  the  action  of 
the  mind  on  experience.  The  general  process  may  be 
summed  up  by  saying  that  every  new  experience  is  under- 
stood by  the  aid  of  past  experiences  consciously  or  un- 
consciously brought  to  bear  upon  it.  For  example, 
every  act  of  recognition  is  possible  only  because  former 
experiences  of  the  same  or  similar  objects  have  left  in 
the  mind  a  tendency  to  notice  objects  of  that  kind.  But 
the  mere  persistence  of  such  tendencies  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  give  us  real  understanding  of  our  present 
experiences,  for  these  would  still  remain  fragmentary  and 
isolated.  It  is  only  so  far  as  immediate  experience  has 
been  interpreted  by  inferences  and  looked  at  in  the 
light  of  received  theories  that  it  is  helpful  to  us  as  a 
guide  of  life. 


68  KORM    OF    INSTBTJCTION. 

Thus,  the  full  conteut  of  meutal  life  at  any  moment  is  not 
only  the  experiences  which  are  immediately  present  to  con- 
sciousness through  the  senses,  but  those  experiences  as 
illuminated  by  the  results  of  past  experiences  interpreted 
in  the  light  of  opinions  and  general  ideas  ■which  we  have 
either  accepted  from  others  or  arrived  at  by  our  own 
thought,  or,  more  frequently,  accepted  after  thought  on  the 
suggestion  of  others.  What  we  know  as  a  '  fact '  is 
always  an  experience  so  interpreted.  We  say,  for  example, 
that  it  is  a  fact  that  the  earth  goes  round  the  sun.  Such 
a  fact  is  obviously  the  current  way  of  explaining  certain 
solar  appearances  which  alone  appear  in  immediate  experi- 
ence. But  to  our  forefathers  it  appeared  to  be  a  fact  that 
the  sun  goes  round  the  earth.  The  solar  appearances  are 
the  same ;  it  is  the  system  of  thought  by  which  they  are 
interpreted  which  has  changed.  Fact  and  theory  are  indeed 
indissolubly  connected,  for  every  fact  is  viewed  in  the 
light  of  some  theory. 

Yet  theories  are  continually  being  developed  out  of  facts. 
In  other  words  the  facts  as  we  know  them — that  is,  as 
viewed  in  the  light  of  our  present  theories— are  always 
being  more  closely  examined  and  analysed,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence the  theories  are  often  changed,  and  then  the  facts 
have  a  meaning  for  us  different  from  that  which  they  had 
before.  In  this  way  knowledge  grows.  Facts,  as  we  know 
them,  yield  up  their  life  and  take  on  a  new  and  higher 
form  when  seen  in  the  light  of  newer  and  truer  theories. 
And  we  know  the  newer  theories  are  truer  than  the  old, 
just  because  they  do  explain  and  make  consistent  and 
intelligible  facts  which  before  stood,  as  it  were,  apart,  and 
which  we  could  not  explain,  that  is,  fit  into  the  general 
scheme  of  things. 

By  such  an  analysis  of  the  process  of  the  growth  of 
knowledge  we  may  separate  out  several  factors.     Tliere  is, 


rORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  69 

first,  the  part  })layeil  by  old  knowledge  and  past  experience 
ill  enabling-  iis  to  understand  new  experiences.  Secondly, 
there  is  the  part  played  by  new  experiences  in  furnishing 
the  mateiial  for  the  growth  of  knoAvledge.  Thirdly,  there 
is  the  analysis  of  experience,  involving  comparison  of  case 
with  case,  and  leading  to  the  formation  of  general  ideas 
and  the  formulation  of  theories.  Lastly,  there  is  the  utili- 
sation of  these  ideas  and  theories  in  the  explanation  of 
further  facts. 

5.  It  is  on  such  an  analysis  that  the  well-known  Herbar- 
tian  theory  of  the  '  Formal  Steps  of  Method  ' 
The  Herbar-  is  Itased.  As  usually  stated  these  steps  are 
StTpfof"^^^  five  in  number:  (1)  Preparation,  (2)  Pre- 
Method.  sent  at  ion,    (3)    Comparison,    (4)    Generalisa- 

tion, (5)  Application,  though  some  writers 
combine  the  third  and  fourth  steps  vinder  the  tenii  Abstrac- 
tion. These  steps  are  then  made  applicable  to  every  '  Method 
Whole,'  that  is,  apparently,  to  so  much  of  a  piece  of  teach- 
ing as  may  rightly  embrace  them  all.  Such  a  method-whole 
may  consist  of  one  lesson  or  of  many.  It  cannot,  then, 
fairly  be  charged  against  the  Herbartian  theory  that  the 
formal  steps  force  every  lesson  into  the  same  cast-iron 
groove,  though  some  enthusiastic  Herbartians  show  a  tend- 
ency to  do  this. 

Nevertheless,  the  scheme  is  open  to  serious  objections. 
It  suggests,  even  if  it  is  not  based  on,  the  assumption  that 
the  factors  in  the  process  of  acquiring  knowledge  must  be 
consecutive  in  time.  But  this  is  far  from  being  the  case. 
Fact  and  theory,  direct  experience  and  thought,  react  on  each 
other  continuously,  so  that  actual  living  thought  presents 
little  in  common  with  this  cut  and  dried  time-order  of  learn- 
ing. That  the  steps  are  regarded  as  expressing  a  time-order 
is  evident  from  the  explanations  given  uf  their  fiuictioii 
Thus,   for  example,    Mr.   Van    Liew  says :    "  Preparation 


70  rORBI    OF    INSTBUCTION. 

.  .  .  analyses  the  meutal  couteut  of  tlie  child  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  at  the  possible  ideas  upon  the  subject  in 
hand  that  are  already  present  in  the  child's  mind.  ...  It 
should  cover  so  far  as  possible  the  entire  content  of  the 
method- whole. "^  Now  this  is  certainly  not  the  way  in 
which  knowledge  is  actually  acquired.  The  ideas  from  the 
past  are  brought  to  bear  on  the  present,  each  as  it  is 
needed,  and  nothing  is  gained  by  summoning  ideas  at  the 
beginning  of  a  method-whole  which  will  not  be  needed 
till  a  later  point  is  reached,  it  may  even  be  after  an 
interval  of  several  weeks.  Nor  do  we  postpone  comparison 
and  generalisation  till  our  new  facts  are  aU  before  us ; 
indeed,  if  we  did  we  should  never  compare  and  generalise. 
For  we  should  never  know  Avhen  the  facts  are  complete — or 
shall  we  not  rather  say,  we  should  always  know  that  they 
are  never  complete  ?  To  make  '  Comparison '  a  separate  step 
further  suggests  the  false  theory  that  generalisation  is  based 
on  such  resemblances  between  things  as  force  themselves  on 
our  senses,  and  not  on  that  inner  identity  of  nati;re  which 
is  only  revealed  by  a  deeper  analysis  which  penetrates 
beneath  the  outward  appearances  of  things.  Such  an 
analysis  can  only  be  carried  on  in  the  light  of  a  theory 
which  it  tests,  and  cannot,  therefore,  precede  the  conception 
of  such  a  theory .- 

That  the  theory  of  the  formal  steps  was  founded  on  a 
mechanical  and  discredited  view  of  mind  growth  as  deter- 
mined solely  by  tlie  interaction  of  ideas  presented  from 
without  cannot,  perhaps,  be  urged  against  it,  as  it  is  now 
advocated  by  many  Avho  hold  an  exactly  opposite  view  of 
the  nature  of  mind.  One  cannot  lielp  thinking,  however, 
that  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  a  theory  of  instruction 
based   on    a    false    psychology    should    be    equally    Avell 

'  Translator \s  nolo  in  Rein's  Outlines  of  J'cdai/ogics,  pj).  149-ir>!. 
^  See  Welton,  Lojlcul  Bnves  of  Education,  pp.  lSl-3  ;  136-9. 


FORM    OF    INSTBUCTION.  71 

connected  with  a  true  and  contradictory  psychology. 
Undoubtedly,  in  the  original  theory  the  'Presentation' 
was  essentially  the  work  of  the  teacher  ;  he  also  was  at  least 
equally  in  evidence  with  the  pupil  in  the  work  of  '  Prepara- 
tion,' and  in  that  of  '  Application.'  But  in  '  Comparison ' 
and  '  Generalisation  '  we  have  the  interaction  of  the  child's 
ideas  upon  each  other.  The  steps  are,  therefore,  some- 
what uncertain  in  their  reference,  in  that  some  express 
primarily  the  teaching  side  of  the  process  and  others 
the  learning  side.  When  an  attempt  is  made  to  apply 
the  steps  throughout  -either  to  the  teaching  process 
or  to  the  learning  process  the  terms  are  seen  to  be 
unsuitable,  in  that  they  do  not  imiformly  express  the 
features  of  either. 

Fui'ther,  the  advocates  of  the  scheme  often  seem  to 
assume  that  all  school  work  can  be  divided  into  method- 
wholes,  in  each  of  which  the  process  is  completed. 
This  is  not  the  case.  Effective  theorising  in  such  sub- 
jects as  history  is  not  possible  till  long  after  primary 
school  days  are  over ;  in  Uterature  often  not  at  all.  And 
all  those  forms  of  teaching  which  aim  at  the  production 
of  constructive  or  executive  skill  fall  outside  the  theory 
altogether  :  attempts  to  apply  the  steps  to  them  are 
painfully  pedantic. 

Even  in  subjects  to  which  the  scheme  can  be  more  or 
less  applied  it  is  acknowledged  that  in  many  lessons  only 
the  first  two  steps  can  be  taken.  This  practically  abolishes 
the  guidance  the  theory  is  supposed  to  give.  For  if  after 
recall  of  what  is  already  known  there  is  nothing  but 
*  Presentation,'  obviously  the  order  in  which  '  Presenta- 
tion '  is  to  take  place  is  left  just  where  it  was  :  the  theory 
has  given  no  guidance  to  the  teacher.  In  fact,  no  mei-ely 
formal  steps  can  give  much  direct  help  in  plotting  out 
actual  pieces  of  teaching.     Each  such  piece  of  teaching 


72  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

deals  with  certain  definite  subject-matter,  and  the  real 
steps  in  the  process  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  nature  of 
that  matter  in  relation  to  the  minds  by  which  it  is  to  be 
apprehended. 

Further,  every  such  formal  scheme  of  method  lies  open 
to  the  objection  that  it  tends  to  mechanise  instruction. 
Everything  which  limits  the  freedom  and  spontaneity  of 
the  process  which  is  at  once  teaching  and  learning  is  a 
hindrance  and  not  a  help  to  educative  work. 

6.  Turning,  then,  from  this  attempt  to  reduce  all  teach- 
ing to  one  abstract  form,  we  will  begin  our 
Chief  Classes  inquiry  for  general  schemes  of  method  by 
fixing  our  attention  primarily  on  individual 
lessons,  which  it  has  been  already  said  must  be  connected 
together  in  a  rational  order.'  Though  every  form  of  the 
learning  process  may  go  on  in  any  one  lesson,  yet  a  little 
reflection  makes  it  evident  that  the  predominant  feature 
in  one  differs  from  that  in  another.  There  are  lessons  in 
which  the  main  aim  is  the  increase  of  information  or  the 
apprehension  of  fact.  In  these  the  learning  process  is 
predominantly  perceptual.^  There  are  others  of  which  the 
essential  purpose  is  to  examine  and  analyse  facts  already 
familiar,  so  as  to  reach  a  f uUer  understanding  of  them ; 
in  other  words,  to  develop  theories  and  general  ideas.  In 
these  the  mental  process  in  learning  is  essentially  concep- 
tual, and  the  order  of  thought  is  inductive.^  Thirdly, 
there  are  those  whose  primary  function  is  to  apply  and 
utilise  knowledge  which  has  already  been  acquired.  In 
these,  also,  the  mental  process  of  learning  is  conceptual, 
but  the  order  of  thought  is  deductive.^  And,  fourthly, 
there    are    lessons    which    tend    to    develop    constructivo 

'  See  p.  57.  -  See  pp.  4S-9. 

'  See  pp.  49-51,  and  cf.  Weltou,  Logical  liases  of  Education, 
pp.  119-122. 


FORM    OP    INSTETTCTION.  73 

and  executive  sliill.  In  these  the  mental  process  of 
the  learner  is  either  imitative  or  imaginative,  and  in 
each  case  the  expression  of  the  mental  ideas  by 
some  form  of  physical  activity  is  the  characteristic 
feature. 

Lessons  of  all  these  kinds  would  fall  w^ithin  every  com- 
plete Herbartian  method-whole,  and  the  first  three  broadly 
correspond  to  the  steps  called  *  Presentation,' '  Abstraction,' 
and  '  Application,'  under  which  last  the  fourth  may  also, 
though  with  some  violence,  be  brought.  But  the  corre- 
spondence is  only  very  general.  In  no  subject  do  the  kinds 
of  lessons  follow  each  other  in  any  fixed  time  order; 
indeed,  examples  of  each  are  not  necessarily  foimd  in  any 
one  branch  of  study.  Moreover,  as  each  kind  of  lesson 
corresponds  mainly  to  only  one  step  in  the  Herbartian 
scheme — though,  of  course,  a  '  Preparation  '  can  always 
be  prefixed — that  scheme  evidently  throws  little  light  on 
the  method  of  individual  lessons.  Thus,  even  if  the 
types  of  lessons  could  be  identified  with  the  separate  steps 
of  the  Herbartian  scheme,  still  a  consideration  of  them 
separately  would  be  likely  to  yield  more  definite  help  than 
is  given  by  that  scheme,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  under  an 
appearance  of  methodical  order  often  leaves  us  entirely 
without  guidance  when  we  come  to  deal  with  the  actual 
work  of  giving  lessons. 

7.  Throughout  school  life,  and  especially  in  the  earlier 

years,    lessons   which   aim   at   the   develop- 

Lessons  which  ment  of  knowledge  have  as  their  primary 
aim  at  increas-     !.•     j.  j.      •  ••  .      , 

ing  Range  of      Object  to  increase  its  scope  or  content,  or, 

Knowledge.  as  we  may  say,  to  widen  the  range  of  in- 
formation. Such  lessons  deal  mainly  with 
the  apprehension  of  facts.  No  doubt  reference  is  made 
more  or  less  indirectly  to  theories  and  general  ideas 
which  give  the  facts  their  meaning.     Incidentally,  too,  the 


74  FOKM    OF    INSTRUCTION, 

apprehension  of  the  facts  may  involve  the  exercise  of 
constructive  or  executive  activities.  But  the  primary 
object  is  the  extension  of  the  scope  of  the  pupils'  know- 
ledge. The  steps  of  method  in  such  lessons,  therefore, 
must  be  relative  to  that  purpose,  and  should  be  based  on 
an  analysis  of  the  mental  process  involved  in  the  appre- 
hension of  new  facts. 

In  such  an  analysis,  the  first  point  that  strikes  us  is  the 

selective  nature  of  the  process.  Not  every 
Steps  of  fg^Qi  around  us  is  apprehended,  but  only  those 

which  win  our  attention.  Such  attention 
may  flow  out  spontaneously  to  facts  of  a  class  which  we 
have  previously  found  interesting.  Thus,  pupils  who 
have  been  mvich  interested  by  previous  lessons  on  plants 
may  be  very  willing  to  attend  to  a  new  lesson  on  plants. 
Or  the  attention  may  be  called  to  facts  which  have  not 
hitherto  interested  us,  but  which  force  themselves  on  our 
notice  in  such  a  way  as  to  hinder  our  activities  or  arouse 
our  curiosity. 

The  teacher  has,  then,  so  to  introduce  the  subject  of  his 

lesson  to  the  children  that  the  desire  to  know 

^■,  ■^?^^^!'?^^^*  it  is  aroused.  Of  course,  no  such  subject  is 
of  Attention.  .     ^     ^      -,  n        ,^       ,     •         ±^  ■     \     ^ 

entirely  fresh,  and  so  the  obvious  thing  to  do 

is  to  call  to  the  pupils'  remembrance  their  cognate  know- 
ledge, and  then  to  indicate  the  new  matter  of  study  as  a 
desirable  extension  and  development  of  that.  It  is  by  no 
means  the  case  that  all  the  previous  knowledge  will  have 
been  acquired  in  the  course  of  school  lessons.  Indeed,  the 
more  closely  the  teacher  can  connect  his  lessons  with  the 
general  life  and  interests  of  his  pupils,  the  more  successful 
will  he  be  in  arousing  in  them  the  desire  to  learn  those 
lessons.  This  introductory  step  corresponds  broadly  with 
the  Herbartian  step  of  '  Preparation,'  but  differs  from  it 
in  that  the  teacher  should  recall  at  the  beginning  only  just 


FOKM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  75 

what  is  sufficient  to  get  a  good  start,  leaving  other  inter- 

]:)retative  ideas  to  be  brought  into  use  as  thej  are  wanted. 

The  first  step,  therefore,  in  the  learning  process  is  the 

adjudinent  of  attention,  and  the  corresponding  teaching 

function  of  showing  the  aim  and  evoking  desire  may  be 

termed  Secnrimj  the  Starti)ig-2)oint. 

This   will  take   very   Httle   time-  the   less   the   better. 

The  bulk  of  the  lesson  will  be,  on  the  pupils' 
ii.  Assimilation  ,^„  i     -i  •     •?  j-  /•  ,     ■  7       /-> 

of  New  Matter.  P^^^'  '^"^^  assimilation  of  new  material.     On 

the  teacher's   part,   the   process   is   one    of 

setting  forth  this  new  material  in  suitable  ways  and  in 

ordered  sequence,  divided  into  steps,  and  pausing  at  the 

end  of  each  step  to  secure  reflection  and  recollection  on  the 

part  of  the  pupils.     The  division  of  the  matter  into  these 

steps  demands  skill  and  care  as  well  as  full  knowledge  of 

the  subject.     The  steps  must  be  determined  by  the  nature 

of  the  subject-matter;   the  fulness  Avith  which  they  are 

treated,    and   the   rapidity   with   Avhich   they    are   passed 

through  must  be  decided  by  the  powers  of  the  class.     It  is 

no  help  to  the  teacher  to  be  told  to  lump  all  these  under 

a  general  heading  such  as  '  Presentation.'     Rather  he  must 

be  exhorted  to  get  such  an  insight  into  his  material  that 

his  steps  express  its  real  articulation. 

Finally  the  pupils  must  organise  the  new  knowledge  and 

...  _        .    ^.     fit  it  into  its  place  in  their  total  system  of 

111.  Organisation ,  ,    ,  ^   ,  ...         "^ 

of  Knowledge,     knowledge  so  as  to  see  its  bearing  and  value. 

The  mental  process  is  again  reflection  and 

recollection,  but  more  extended  in  its  scope  than  at  the 

close  of  the  intermediate  steps.     The  teacher's  part  is,  by 

suggestion  and  indication  of  connections,  to  assist  in  this 

organisation.     This  may   be  done  in   a   variety   of  w\avs 

each  more  suitable  to   one   kind  of   subject-matter  than 

to  another.     So  long  as  the  result  is  secured  the  mode  of 

attaining  it  is  justified.     The  success  of  the  lesson  mav  be 


76  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

gauged  by  the  desire  aroused  iii  the  pupils  generally  to 
cany  that  line  of  study  further,  and  the  most  obvious 
utilisation  of  the  new  knowledge,  at  any  rate  as  far  as 
school  work  is  concerned,  is  the  employment  of  it  to  make 
this  progress  at  once  more  facile  and  more  rapid. 

Having  laid  down  the  general  steps  of  method  in  such 
lessons,  the  next  point   to  consider  is  how 
Modes  of  such   teaching   can   he    given    in   the   most 

of  Teaching.  effective  way.  This  also  must  he  deter- 
mined by  a  consideration  of  the  nature  of 
the  knowledge  to  be  acquired  by  the  pupils,  and  of  the  way 
in  which  such  knowledge  is,  or  can  be,  related  to  the  lives 
of  the  pupils. 

Knowledge  of  facts  comes  to  each  one  of  us  in  two 
chief  ways — either  by  immediate  experience  or  from  the 
testimony  of  others.  Obviously  the  range  of  immediate 
experience  of  each  individual,  if  we  exclude  from  it  all 
intei'course  with  our  fellows,  is  extremely  small.  It  follows, 
then,  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  our  knowledge  of 
facts  is  derived  from  what  others  tell  us,  or  from  what  we 
read  in  books.  In  these  ways  each  individual  avails  him- 
self of  the  accumulated  experience  of  the  human  race,  and 
enters  into  at  least  some  small  part  of  the  heritage  of 
human  knowledge.  It  is,  indeed,  through  intercourse  with 
others  that  the  child  develops  into  the  civilised  and  more 
or  less  cultured  man.  But  the  most  usual  medium  through 
which  we  receive  information  from  others  is  language,  and 
the  words  of  language  convey  meaning  to  us  only  as  far  as  we 
can  interpret  them  by  a  more  or  less  direct  reference  to  our 
own  immediate  experiences.  It  is,  for  example,  impossible 
to  convey  adequate  or  correct  ideas  of  colour  to  one  who 
has  been  blind  from  birth,  because  the  words  in  which  we 
try  to  explain  what  colour  is  would  have  no  reference  to 
any  immediate  personal  experience  of  our  hearer.    We  can. 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  77 

indeed,  understaud  the  descriptiou  of  things  we  have  never 
seen,  but  we  can  do  so  only  so  far  as  this  description 
guides  us  in  putting  together  in  a  new  form  elements 
famiUar  to  us  in  immediate  experience.  Our  under- 
standing of  what  others  tell  us  is  adequate,  correct,  and 
clear,  just  in  proportion  to  the  adequacy,  correctness,  and 
clearness  of  the  ideas  which  the  language  calls  up  in  our 
minds.  And  this  again  is  directly  dependent  upon  the  care 
with  which  the  corresponding  experiences  have  been  noticed 
and  examined. 

Now,  we  know  that  the  great  majority  of  our  imme- 
diate experiences  pass  unnoticed.  This,  indeed,  must 
always  be  so.  Impressions  from  the  world  around 
us  pour  into  our  minds  so  continuously  and  in  such 
unordered  numbers  that  only  a  few  can  possibly  win 
our  attention.  To  attempt  to  attend  to  all  would  be 
to  attend  to  none.  As  life  advances  we  more  and  more 
hmit  our  attention  to  the  x'auge  of  our  interests,  and  such 
limitation  is  essential  to  effective  work  :  without  it  our 
energies  would  be  dissipated  in  all  directions  and  no  real 
result  attained  in  any.  But  with  the  young,  life-purposes 
and  their  attendant  interests  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
begun.  It  follows  that  one  of  the  teacher's  functions  is 
to  attract  his  pupils'  attention  to  the  events  and  things 
which  enter  directly  into  their  Hves.  This  he  should  do 
as  widely  as  possible,  though  as  his  pupils  advance  in 
age  he  must  expect,  and  indeed  welcome,  the  beginnings 
of  that  concentration  of  interests  which  is  essential  to  a 
really  effective  life.  Of  course,  in  the  primary  school  such 
concentration  will  not  proceed  far,  and  Avill  at  most  show 
itself  in  a  preference  for  certain  kinds  of  knowledge  above 
others. 

But  to  attend  to  immediate  experiences  is  not  suffi- 
cient preparation  for  understanding  the  communications 


78  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

of  others.  There  must  be  added  to  it  a  carefid  train- 
iiig  in  the  application  and  nse  of  language,  and  in  the 
power  of  verbal  description  of  things  in  immediate 
experience  or  remembered  as  parts  of  former  immediate 
experiences.  As  Mr.  Eooper  well  says :  "  Speech  is  a 
spiritual  hEnd  for  grasping  objects  by  the  mind.  .  .  . 
Want  of  language,  Avant  of  words  filled  with  clear,  definite 
meaning,  is  the  greatest  hindrance  to  culture."  ' 

The  gaining  knowledge  by  full  and  careful  examination 
of  things  and  events  in  immediate  experience  is,  then,  the 
essential  foundation  of  every  real  system  of  learning,  and 
unless  it  is  well  and  truly  laid  the  edifice  erected  will  be  a 
jerry-built  structure — unsafe  and  liable  to  collapse.  And 
an  integral  part  of  such  examination  of  experience  is  the 
development  of  the  power  to  use  language  accurately, 
clearly,  and  precisely. 

We  see,  then,  that  lessons  which  aim  at  increase  of 
information  are  of  two  main  kinds — those  which  directly 
examine  and  study  things  and  events,  and  those  which  do 
so  at  second-hand  through  the  words  of  otliers.  Both  will 
go  on  throughout  the  school,  but  it  is  evident  that  the 
proportion  of  the  latter  to  the  former  will  increase  as  the 
pupils  advance  in  age,  in  knowledge,  and  in  command  over 
language. 

To  the  former  class  belong  object  lessons,  nature  study, 

out  of  doors  study   of  geogi'aphy,   the  first 

Direct  Study      study  of  number,  study  of  historical  remains 

and  Ev«it8.        ^^^  ^f  works  of  art.     The  mode  of  teaching 

is  obvious.     It  must  bring  every  pupil  into 

direct  relation,  through  the  appropriate  forms  of  activity, 

with  the  qualities  of  the  things  dealt  Avith.     In  so  far  as 

this  is  not  done  the  lesson  resolves  itself  into  one  Avhich 

conveys  iufonnation  through  words.     For  example,  Aveight 

'  School  and  Home  Life,  p.  98. 


FOEM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  79 

can  oniy  be  directly  appreheuded  by  lifting,  texture  or 
temperature  by  feeling-,  flavour  by  tasting,  and  so  on. 
Merely  to  talk  of  these  qualities  as  belonging  to  an 
object  -whicli  the  pupils  only  see,  is  not  to  give  direct 
experience  of  them.  The  teacher's  work  is,  then,  in 
the  first  place  to  secure  that  such  examination  is  well 
and  thoroughly  made,  and  in  the  next  place,  to  ensure 
that  each  pupil  can  express  the  results  of  his  obsei-vations 
in  clear  and  copious  language.  In  all  such  work  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  mere  cursory  notice  such  as  a 
child  spontaneously  gives  to  objects  which  attract  him  is 
not  sufficient.  He  must  really  attend  to  them,  which 
implies  that  each  must  be  kept  under  examination  a  con- 
siderable time,  and  considered  in  its  relation  to  some 
purpose  of  active  doing  or  thinking,  return  being  made  to 
it  again  and  again.  "  Let  the  child  see  what  part  the 
object  plays  in  its  usual  surroundings,  and  dwell  upon  its 
material,  its  origin,  its  use,  its  hurtfulness,  its  opposites, 
and  its  resemblances." '  In  a  word,  to  be  of  worth  such 
teaching  must  be  thorough,  and  can  only  be  effectively 
given  by  teachers  who  have  a  copious,  exact,  and  sym- 
pathetic knowledge  at  first-hand  of  the  subjects  they  handle. 
The  too  common  notion  that  it  requires  very  little  know- 
ledge to  give  a  successful  object  lesson  to  young  children  is 
utterly  mistaken  and  productive  of  much  waste  of  time 
and  of  much  youthful  distaste  for  learning. 

Upon  the  foundation  thus  laid  in  an  examination  of  im- 
mediate experience  the  whole  of  the  superstructure  of  know- 
ledge has  to  rest.  It  is  evident  that  many  facts  are  learned 
from  others  equally  well  as  from  personal  observation. 
Nothing  would  be  gained,  for  example,  by  letting  a  boy 
discover  that  Ireland  is  an  island  by  walking  round  it,  and 
evidently  much  time  and  energy  would  be  lost.  So  it  is  with 
'  Rooper,  op.  cit.,  p.  100. 


80  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION, 

the  majority  of  facts.  Indeed,  it  matters  little,  if  at  all,  how 
we  get  hold  of  a  fact  so  long  as  we  apprehend  it  clearly, 
accurately,  and  completely.  All  facts  in  history,  most  of 
those  in  geography,  in  natural  history,  and  indeed  in  every 
department  of  knowledge  we  have  to  take  on  trust.  That 
is  how  the  individual  makes  use  of  the  labours  of  others, 
and  consequently  how  general  knowledge  grows. 

Communication  from  others  is  inade  in  two  ways — by 
word  of  mouth  and  through  the  printed  page. 
Of  these  the  former  evidently  comes  earliest 
in  school  Ufe :  children  can  understand  speech  before  they 
can  read.  Moreover,  oral  teaching  has  an  advantage  which 
is  important  with  young  children.  By  encouraging  the 
pupils  to  ask  questions,  and  by  occasionally  question- 
ing them,  the  teacher  can  make  sure  that  they  appre- 
hend clearly  what  he  is  telling  them.  The  teacher  should, 
thei-efore,  cultivate  the  power  of  effective  and  vivid  narra- 
tive— terse  and  pointed  and  clear ;  in  short,  a  good  English 
spoken  style.  Nor  should  he  be  afraid  to  use  it.  There  is 
an  unhappy  tendency  in  English  primary  schools  to  con- 
temn such  narrative  as  '  lecturing,'  and  to  try  to  teach 
everythmg  by  questioning.  Now,  questioning  certainly  has 
its  place  in  teaching,  and  we  shall  deal  with  it  later  on ; 
but  no  questioning  can  put  into  people's  minds  facts  which 
were  not  there  before.  And  in  the  kind  of  lessons  we  are 
now  considering  increase  of  knowledge  of  facts  is  the  very 
object  of  the  teaching.  Let  the  teacher,  then,  tell  a  story 
as  a  story — say  a  piece  of  history,  or  an  account  of  foreign 
lands,  or  whatever  it  may  be.  Let  him  illustrate  with  suit- 
able pictures,  specimens,  and  blackboai'd  sketches — any- 
thing which  will  add  clearness  and  vividness  to  the  ideas 
he  is  raising  in  his  pupils'  minds.  But  let  him  not  overdo 
this.  To  '  illustrate '  what  is  ah-eady  clear  and  vivid  is  to 
waste  time ;  to  show  a  picture  of  what  should  be  left  to 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  81 

tlie  unaided  imagination  of  the  pupils — many  a  poetical 
image,  for  example — is  to  do  for  tliem  what  they  should  do 
for  themselves  and  therefore  to  hinder  their  education  ; 
to  overcrowd  a  lesson — say  one  on  a  foreign  country — with 
pictures  or  lantern  slides  is  to  bring  confusion  instead  of 
clearness  into  the  ideas  the  pupils  carry  away  with  them. 
In  short,  in  illustrations,  pictorial  or  verbal,  as  in  other 
adornments  and  luxuries  of  life,  a  wise  economy  is 
needful. 

But  the  teacher  must  not  be  content  to  talk,  no  matter 
how  well  he  does  it.  The  pupil's  mental  attitude  when 
absorbing  new  knowledge  of  fact  is,  and  should  be,  re- 
ceptive, and  that  whether  he  is  observing  objects  for 
himself  or  listening  to  the  words  of  his  teacher.  But  it 
should  in  no  case  be  passive.  When  the  pvipil  is  observing 
facts  for  himself  he  is  first  taking  the  object  to  pieces 
mentally  and  then  putting  it  together  again.  When  he  is 
listening  to  descriptions  or  narratives,  the  putting  together 
of  the  new  facts  he  is  learning  is  equally  important.  The 
teacher  will,  therefore,  pause  at  appropriate  places,  and  in 
some  suitable  way  secure  that  this  is  done,  often  placing 
the  results  on  the  blackboard  in  some  brief  form  of  sum- 
mary. And  at  the  end  of  the  lesson,  or  at  a  subsequent 
time,  he  will  call  for  some  form  of  systematic  reproduction. 
The  worst  and  most  ineffective  way  of  doing  this  is,  as  soon 
as  the  narrative  is  over,  to  ask  the  class  a  number  of  petty 
questions.  Individual  pupils  answer  the  questions,  but 
nothing  is  done  to  lead  any  pupil  to  think  over  and 
put  together  for  himself  the  contents  of  the  lesson.  To 
have  a  brief  talk  on  the  main  points  and  their  connection, 
to  throw  its  results  into  the  form  of  a  summary,  and  to 
follow  this  a  day  or  two  later  by  a  written  composition,  is 
a  much  more  effective  mode  of  proceeding  with  the  older 
pupils,  whilst  with  the  younger  it  is  well  to  train  them  to 

PR.  TO,  6 


82  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

give  individually  complete  reproductions  in  fluent  and  cor- 
rect English  of  the  substance  of  what  they  have  heard.  If 
they  are  interested  in  the  subject  quite  small  children  do 
this  readily  when  encouraged  to  do  so.  It  is  the  teacher's 
faith  in  the  fatal  heresy  of  the  supreme  value  of  question- 
ing which  so  often  destroys  this  power  in  the  pupils  as  they 
get  older,  so  that  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  many 
primary  schools  is  the  inarticulateness  of  the  scholars. 
But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  teaching  in  school 
should  always  develop  and  train  in  the 
from^Books  pupils  the  power  of  learning  for  themselves. 
Lessons  of  direct  observation  of  the  things 
which  surround  us  do  this,  but  oral  lessons  do  not  directly 
do  it  at  all,  and,  if  too  extensively  used,  may  even  atrophy 
the  capacity.  After  the  pupil  leaves  school  the  one  way 
of  getting  information  at  second-hand  commonly  open  to 
him  is  by  reading  books.  And  to  read  a  book  so  as  to 
extract  its  essence  and  pass  by  what  is  not  of  worth 
relatively  to  our  needs  is  a  work  of  skill.  This  skill  it 
should  be  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  school  to  train. 
Like  every  other  power  it  can  only  be  developed  by  right 
practice.  How  can  Ave  expect  young  men  and  women  to 
read  intelligently  what  is  worth  reading  if  they  have  never 
been  taught  how  to  do  so  at  school  ?  Such  teaching- 
is  not  given  by  the  ordinary  lesson  in  reading  aloud,  the 
aim  of  which  is  always  mainly,  if  not  altogether,  elocu- 
tionary. By  the  excess  of  oral  lessons  childi-en  are  so 
trained  to  rely  on  their  teacher  for  new  information  that 
they  know  not  how  to  get  it  in  any  otlier  way.  One  of 
the  greatest  reforms  needed  in  our  primary  schools  is  the 
substitution  to  a  very  considerable  extent  of  the  reading  of 
well  chosen  text-books  for  oral  lessons.  "  No  education 
seems  to  be  worth  the  name  which  has  not  made  children 
at  home  in  the  world  of  books,  and  so  related  them,  mind 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  83 

to  mind,  with  thinkers  who  have  dealt  with  knowled^^e. 
We  reject  epitomes,  compilations,  and  their  like,  and  put 
into  children's  hands  books  which,  long  or  short,  are  living. 
Thus  it  becomes  a  large  part  of  the  teacher's  work  to  help 
children  to  deal  with  their  books ;  so  that  the  oral  lesson 
and  lecture  are  but  small  matters  in  education,  and  are 
used  chiefly  to  summarise  or  to  expand  or  illustrate."' 
In  this  passage  Miss  Charlotte  Mason  states  not  only 
the  principle  we  are  urging,  but  also  the  practice  adopted 
for  some  years  past  with  the  greatest  success  in  the 
Parents'  Review  School  at  Ambleside. 

Doubtless,  at  first  the  pupils  need  a  good  deal  of  help  in 
reading  a  portion  of  a  book :  it  must  be  indicated  what  they 
are  to  look  for,  how  they  are  to  distinguish  the  essential 
from  the  less  important,  and  how  they  are  to  organise 
and  systematise  what  they  have  read.  Care  has  to  be  taken 
that  they  do  all  this  intelligently  and  do  not  make  the 
work  a  mere  memory  of  words,  which  is  the  danger  to 
which  this  form  of  learning  is  most  open ;  though  it 
may  well  be  doubted  if  even  this  is  so  serious  an  educational 
mischief  as  the  desultory  habit  of  mind,  the  slurring  over 
of  obscurities,  and  the  shirking  of  difficulties  which  is  the 
regular  outcome  of  excessive  oral  teaching.  A  few  broad 
and  suggestive  questions,  written  do-wTi  before  they  begin 
to  read  and  the  answering  of  which  involves  a  digesting 
and  re-arrangement  of  the  subject  of  the  chapter,  put  the 
pupils  on  the  riglit  road  at  the  beginning.  At  the  end  a 
talk  with  the  teacher  over  what  has  been  read  should 
gxiide  them  in  that  organising  of  new  matter  with  old 
which  is  necessary  to  secure  every  advance  in  know- 
ledge. Such  a  talk  should  neither  be  allowed  to  degenerate 
into  a  mere  examination  into  what  is  remembered  nor 
into  an  informal  chat  over  trivialities.  In  it  the 
1  Mason,  School  Education,  p.  226. 


84  FORM    OP    INSTRUCTION. 

teacher  should  aim  at  developiug  important  points,  at 
illustrating  others,  and  at  leading  the  pupils  to  make 
inferences  and  draw  conclusions  from  the  matter  read,  and 
themselves  to  seelc  for  analogies  and  illustrations  from 
other  sources.  The  reproduction  of  the  substance  of  what 
has  been  learnt  either  orally  or  in  some  form  of  written 
composition  completes  the  work.  Such  reproduction  may 
take  many  forms,  and  the  more  variety  the  teacher  can 
introduce  into  it  the  more  stimulating  is  the  exercise.  But 
all  such  forms  fall  into  one  of  two  broad  classes — repro- 
duction in  full  of  the  whole  or  part  of  the  matter  studied, 
or  reproduction  in  brief  summary  of  the  important  facts, 
arranged  with  reference  to  some  definite  point  of  view.  In 
either  case  the  line  to  be  taken  in  arranging  the  reproduc- 
tion is  often  best  indicated  to  the  pupils  by  a  broad 
question. 

Of  course,  this  mode  of  learning  can  only  be  gradually 
substituted  for  oral  teaching  as  the  children  attain 
mastery  over  the  mechanical  difiiculties  of  reading.  But 
approaches  to  it,  though  gradual,  should  be  steady,  and  in 
the  upper  classes  it  should  be  the  customary  mode  in 
which  the  pupils  acquire  new  information.  Needless  to 
say,  the  books  used  must  be  carefully  selected,  so  as  to 
appeal  to  the  pupils  and  awaken  that  sympathy  with 
learning  of  which  the  germ  exists  in  every  human  mind. 
They  should  be  such  as  to  require  the  young  readers  to 
put  fortli  their  best  efforts,  yet  not  so  hard  as  to  render 
those  efforts  unavailing.  Above  all,  the  mastery  of  them 
should  be  set  before  the  pupils  as  a  privilege  to  be  valued 
and  sought  after  and  not  as  a  hated  task  to  be  imposed 
and  enforced  by  penalties.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  depends 
mainly  on  the  teacher's  tact  whether  the  pupils'  atti- 
tude towards  their  lessons  be  one  of  attraction  or  of 
repulsion. 


FOEM    OP    INSTRUCTION.  85 

8.  In  tlie  type  of  lessons  we  have  just  considered  the 
Lessons  which  F"P^^"  ""''^  engaged  in  entering  into  their 
aim  at  increas-  intellectual  heritage  by  extending  the  mdth 

ing  Depth  of  of  their  knowledge.  Their  mental  attitude 
Knowledge.         •  ,.  i    ,i    .        .    -, 

IS  receptive,  and  their  mmds  are  engaged  in 

perceiving  what  is  present  to  their  senses,  in  imagining 
what  is  described,  and  in  remembering  in  an  ordered 
manner  facts  of  which  they  have  in  these  ways  become 
aware.  To  some  extent  they  reason  on  these  matters  of 
fact  and  relate  them  to  each  other.  But  the  relation  is 
mainly  superficial ;  it  is  usually  one  of  time  when  the  facts 
have  been  received  through  narrative,  or  one  of  place  or 
similarity  when  they  have  been  apprehended  through 
direct  experience  or  through  description. 

It  is  obvious  that  such  reception  of  knowledge  is  an 
essential  element  in  the  development  of  mental  life:  it 
is  the  food  on  which  thought  feeds.  But  knowledge  is 
not  completely  knowledge  while  it  remains  in  this  mainly 
empirical  form.  Facts  must  be  sifted  and  analysed,  and 
the  deeper  relations  of  identity  of  nature  and  of  causation 
which  make  them  parts  of  an  organic  whole  must  be  ascer- 
tamed.  This  is  essentially  the  work  of  science,  and  in  it 
man  has,  as  yet,  made  but  little  headway  in  comparison 
with  what  has  to  be  learnt,  although  when  viewed  in 
relation  to  the  total  ignorance  from  which  he  started  his 
progress  seems  enormous.  It  has  been  so  great,  at  any 
rate,  that  no  student  attempts  to  know  all  science ;  special- 
isation is  more  and  more  the  mark  of  scientific  worlcers. 
It  is,  then,  abundantly  evident  that  school  children  cannot 
advance  far  along  the  paths  of  science.  Still  more  evident 
is  it  that  even  the  little  progress  they  can  make  is  possible 
only  under  skilled  guidance.  But  however  small  the  pro- 
gress may  be,  it  should  be  real.  And  this  implies  that  the 
pupil  investigates  for   himself,  forms  and  tests  his  own 


86  FORM    OF    INSTRUCtlON. 

conclusions.  The  object  is  not  to  add  to  tlie  width  of  his 
knowledge,  but  to  increase  its  depth.  He  may  incidentally 
become  acquainted  with  facts  of  which  his  notions  have 
hitherto  been  so  hazy  that  he  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
known  them  at  all,  but  his  main  purpose  is  to  understand 
more  about  the  natiu-e  and  relations  of  facts  with  which, 
as  facts,  he  is  more  or  less  familiar.  His  mental  activity 
is,  therefore,  conceptual,  and  his  mental  process  is  one  of 
reasoning  and  invention. 

Obviously  such  lessons  react  upon  lessons  of  the  kind  we 
have  already  considered.  Facts  which  have  been  analysed 
are  ever  after  more  fviU  of  meaning  than  those  which  have 
only  been  perceived.  But  in  the  primary  school  the  two 
kinds  of  lessons  are  mainly  in  different  branches  of  know- 
ledge, because  there  are  few  subjects  of  which  the  facts  are 
either  simple  enough  or  sufficiently  under  command  to 
make  conceptual  analysis  possible  to  children.  Thus, 
history  and  descriptive  geography  remain  for  the  primary 
school  mainly  on  the  perceptual  level;  while  mathematics 
and  the  simpler  relations  of  physical  science  admit,  more 
or  less,  of  conceptual  treatment  by  the  pupils. 

The  method  of  conducting  lessons  in  Avhich  conceptual 
analysis  is  the  chief  form  of  mental  activity 
M^to  d^  should  obviously   be  an  application  of   the 

methods  of  inductive  science.^  Of  course, 
these  cannot  be  adopted  in  their  entirety,  for  ignorant  school 
children  cannot  approach  any  subject  in  a  mental  condition 
similar  to  that  of  the  pioneers  of  science.  Though  such 
methods  may  be  called  '  heuristic,'  the  pupils  are  in  a  very 
different  position  from  that  of  original  discoverers.  The 
essential  differences  are  that,  as  a  rule,  they  cannot  select 
their  own  matter  for  investigation,  and  that  they  have  a 

'  (S'ee  Weltoii,  Lo(jkal  Bases  of  Edacadoii,  Cliaps.  X.  and  XVI 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  87 

very  inadequate  conception  of  what  constitutes  proof.     Nor 

can  these  defects  be  avoided,  for  tliej  are  inherent  in  the 

immaturity  of  the  pupils  botli  in  knowledge  and  in  power. 

But  Avith  these  very  considerable  reservations  the  pupils 

should    be  independent   investigators.     Their  attitude  of 

mind  should  not  be  one  of  receptivity,  but  one  of  active 

inquiry  and  criticism. 

In  order  that  this  may  be  secured  each  lesson  should 

begin   Avith   suggesting   to   the  pupils  that 

1.  Apprehen-      there  is  a  problem  to  be  solved.     Of  course, 

sion  01  Pro-         /i       ,       i  i 

blem.  the  teacher    selects    the    problem,    and   he 

arranges  the  facts  so  as  to  make  that 
problem  stand  out  clearly.  The  kind  of  problem  is,  thus, 
suggested  to  the  immature  pupil  much  more  explicitly  than 
the  chaos  of  nature  offers  problems  to  the  scientific  dis- 
coverer. Now  a  problem  is  a  direct  challenge  to  an  active 
human  mind :  consequently,  an  adequate  presentation  of  a 
problem  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  excite  in  the  pupils  a  desire 
to  solve  it.  But  its  nature  is  only  clearly  apprehended 
when  the  facts  which  suggest  it  have  been  carefully 
examined.  Before  a  solution  can  be  attempted  a  clear 
idea  of  what  has  to  be  solved  is  essential. 

When  this  has  been    done,  the   pupils  should  suggest 
any   solutions   that    occur  to   them.     Manv 
and  tI tSg  of    ""*  ^^^^"^  solutions  will  appear  to  the  teacher 
Solutions.  absurd,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that 

in  all  scientific  discovery  the  line  of  advance 
is  marked  by  the  corpses  of  rejected  solutions  and  theories. 
A  solution  which  seems  ridiculous  to  a  teacher  may  well  be 
reasonable  to  a  pupil,  and  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  chief  value  of  lessons  of  this  kind  does  not  lie  in  the 
accuracy  of  the  solutions  reached  so  much  as  in  the  process 
of  reaching  them.  When  a  pupil  offers  a  solution,  there- 
fore, he  should  be  required  to  suggest  a  way  in  which  it 


Ob  FORM    OF    INSTRtrCTION. 

may  be  tested.  Often  the  mere  consideration  of  the  conse- 
quences of  a  solution  will  show  that  it  is  inadmissible,  in 
that  those  consequences  would  conflict  with  known  facts. 
But  in  other  cases  the  matter  has  to  be  brought  to  the  test 
of  experiment,  and  often  after  trial  the  proposed  solvitiou 
has  to  be  rejected.  In  other  cases  one  solution  will  appear 
at  the  end  more  probable  than  any  other  which  has  been 
suggested,  but,  at  any  rate  in  physical  science,  progress  will 
rarely  go  beyond  this. 

The  outcome  of  testing  the  various  solutions  which  have 
..  .     been  offered  may,  indeed,  not  be  reached  in 

of  Theory.  ^^®  lesson  in  which  the  problem  was  stated : 

well,  indeed,  is  it  when  the  active  resoui'ce- 
fulness  of  the  class  is  so  great  that  it  is  not.  But  at  the 
end  some  one  solution  will  hold  the  field,  a  solution  which 
in  extreme  cases  the  teacher  himself  may  have  been  driven 
to  suggest,  though  when  this  is  so  he  should  be  careful 
not  to  assert  it  as  having  more  intrinsic  authority  than 
those  of  the  pupils.  And,  obviously,  this  should  be  a  last 
resort.  The  surviving  solution  should  then  be  clearly 
formulated,  and  the  evidence  examined  to  see  with  what 
degree  of  confidence  it  may  be  accepted.  This  step  may 
not  take  long,  but  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance. 

Now  all  this  may  seem  a  very  slow  advance  and  one 
which  reaches  but  an  unsatisfactory  result.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  knowledge  both  these  charges  must  be 
granted.  But  educationally  these  are  exactly  the  features 
which  give  the  lessons  their  chief  value.  For  such  learn- 
ing should,  above  all,  bring  home  to  the  piipils  that  the 
attainment  of  new  knowledge  by  oneself  is  a  slow  and 
arduous  task,  and  one  in  which  many  disappointments 
must  be  expected,  and  many  mistakes  will  be  made ;  that 
every  proposed  solution  must  stand  or  fall  by  the  tests 
which  can  be  applied  to  it;  that  one  must  not  jump  at 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  89 

conclusions  nor  claim  certainty  where  the  evidence  which  can 
be  apprehended  only  justifies  some  degree  of  probability. 

When  all  these  points  are  secured  the  pupils  may  often 
with  advantage  be  told  that  people  wiser  and  more 
learned  than  they  8.re  have  accumulated,  by  means 
beyond  their  skill  to  employ,  much  more  evidence 
than  they  can  apprehend,  and  that  this  evidence  shows 
that  the  conclusions  the  pupils  have  reached  as  more  or 
less  probable  are  really  practically  certain.  This  because, 
after  all,  one  of  the  objects  of  teaching  is  to  lead  the 
pupils  to  grasp  the  tiiith  so  far  as  it  is  known. 

But  it  should  be  recognised  clearly  both  by  teachers  and 
taught  that  such  tnith  is  given  and  received  on  the 
authority  of  others,  and  is  not  the  outcome  of  the  investiga- 
tions just  concluded  by  the  pupils.  It  is,  indeed,  the  failure 
to  recognise  this  which  makes  so  much  of  the  teaching  of 
science  to  yoTing  pupils  not  only  ineffective  but  positively 
mischievous.  By  an  excess  of  guidance  in  the  form  of 
suggestion  and  leading  questions  the  teacher  keeps  the 
pupils  from  going  astray,  and  they  are  allowed  to  enun- 
ciate as  the  result  of  their  observations  a  universal  law — 
tiaie  in  itself  it  may  be,  but  absolutely  unjustified  by  the 
evidence  before  them.  Thus  a  superciHousness,  a  self- 
conceit,  and  a  self-sufiiciency  are  cultivated  which  is  out 
of  place  everywhere,  but  especially  in  the  young,  and 
which  is  as  far  removed  as  it  possibly  can  be  from  the 
attitude  of  mind  of  the  true  discoverer.  That  is  marked 
by  the  humility  of  knowledge ;  this  by  the  dogmatism  of 
ignorance. 

Throughout  the  investigation,  each  solution  has  been 
tested  by  its  application  to  actual  fact,  and,  of  course,  the 
victorious  solution  has  been  thus  appHed  as  well  as  others. 
But  it  is  well  at  the  end  for  the  pupils  to  seek  for  otlier 
forms  of  application,  so  that  the  width  and  explanatory 


90  FOEM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

power  of  the  tlieory  may  be  brought  home  to  them.     In 

mauy  cases,  as,  for  example,  in  arithmetic 
iy.  Applica-  g^^^^  geometry,  this  needs  separate  lessons,  of 
Theory.  ^^^  kind  we  shall  discuss  in  the  next  section, 

and  the  pi'ocess  of  thought  is  always  of  the 
nature  we  shall  there  describe. 

It  is  evident  that  the  progress  of  a  lesson  in  which  the 

pupils'  thoughts  take  the  lead  is  much  less 
Absence  of  under  the  teacher's  control  than  is  that  of 
Method.  ^^^  ill  which  he  presents  the  matter  in  an 

ordered  sequence  determined  by  himself. 
The  attempt  to  attain  the  same  regular  method  in  this 
essentially  different  type  of  lesson  absolutely  destroys 
its  value,  for  then  the  pupils  are  prevented  from  going 
wrong.  But  real  progress  in  conceptual  analysis  is  normally 
made  by  first  making  a  mistake,  then  finding  out  it  is  a 
mistake,  and  finally  rejecting  it,  when  from  its  ashes 
springs  another  and  more  promising  attempt. 

The  fulness  with  which  such  methods  of  learning  can 

be  adopted  depends  on  the  advancement 
Methods.  *^^    *^^   pupils   relatively   to    their    various 

branches  of  study.  In  mathematics  and 
language  a  good  deal  can  be  done  with  pupils  as  young  as 
ten  or  eleven.  In  subjects  whose  data  are  more  complex 
advance  is  naturally  slower.  The  only  general  rule  is 
at  once  positive  and  negative — to  cause  each  pupil  to 
advance  in  conceptual  analysis  as  far  as  he  can,  but  not 
to  attempt  to  force  him  beyond  the  point  at  which  his 
thought  works  surely  and  successfully.  The  great  danger 
to  be  avoided  is  an  appearance  of  advance  in  mental  power 
without  the  reality — a  mere  sham,  which  often  deceives 
both  teacher  and  pupils. 

The  essential  thing  is  that  the  pupils  make  all  the  in- 
ferences for  themselves,  and  any  procedure  on  the  teacher's 


i'OfeM    0:6'    INSTRUCTION.  dl 

part  which  secures  this  end  is  justified.     Broadly,  it  may 

be  said  that  the  matter  dealt  with  is  of  two 

Modes  of  kinds,  that  which  can  be  entirely  or  mainly 

Teaching.  dealt  with  mentally  and  that  which  demands, 

in  addition  to  mental  analysis,  some  amount 

of  manipulation  of  certain  matters  of  sense  experience. 

In  the  former  case,  the  function  of  the  teacher  is  to 

_      ...  sugcrest    lines    of    thouarht,    but   to    avoid 

Questioning.  .  .  . 

suggesting  conclusions.  A  kind  of  stimu- 
lating interrogation  which  leads  each  pupil  to  develop  the 
line  of  reasoning  the  class  is  pursuing  in  common  is  the 
most  effective  instrument  with  young  people.  With  older 
pupils  it  should  usually  be  possible  to  put  the  problem 
before  them,  leave  them  to  seek  and  test  solutions  of  their 
own,  and  then  discuss  the  results  with  them.  This  is  a 
mode  of  promoting  learning  obviously  analogous  to  that  of 
using  text-books,  which  was  discussed  in  the  last  section. 

The  power  to  question  well  is  one  of  the  fine  arts  of 
teaching,  and,  like  other  fine  arts,  it  can  only  be  perfected 
by  much  practice.  But  such  practice  may  with  advantage 
be  criticised  by  careful  reflection  after  each  lesson,  and  it  is 
in  such  criticism  that  the  rules  of  questioning  commonly 
given  in  books  on  teaching  are  usefid.  After  a  lesson  a 
teacher  may  profitably  ask  himself  whether  his  questions 
were  calculated  to  stimulate  thought,  to  suggest  problems 
without  suggesting  solutions,  to  give  the  minimum  prompt- 
ing required  to  carry  on  the  lesson,  whether  they  grew  out 
of  the  pupils'  answers  so  as  to  make  the  whole  conversa- 
tion between  teachers  and  pupils  a  true  cooperation  and  a 
real  advance,  whether  they  were  clear,  definite,  and  well 
expressed.  This  noting  of  faults  may  help  in  the  attempt 
to  avoid  them  in  the  future.  But  improvement  cannot 
be  made  by  trying  to  keep  such  rules  in  the  mind  when 
talking   with    the    class.      Then    the    teacher's    attention 


92  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

should  be  fixed  ou  the  relation  between  subject-matter 
and  pupils.  He  should  be  clear  as  to  what  he  Avants 
to  ask,  and  keep  in  close  touch  with  his  pupils'  minds ; 
beyond  that  he  should  trust  to  a  cultivated  habit  of 
clear  expression  of  thought.  One  questions,  indeed,  as 
one  talks.  Good  questioning,  like  good  exposition,  is  the 
outcome  of  habits  of  clear  thought  and  precise  expression. 
And  precise  expression  can  only  be  successfully  attained  if 
it  is  cultivated  in  speech  generally  and  not  merely  in  in- 
teiTogation  in  school.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  general  life 
habits  dominate  school  work. 

In  lessons  in  which  the  testing  of  suggestions  involves 
the  manipulation  of  physical  objects  the 
'  essential  point  to  secure  is  that  the  pupils 
invent  what  is  to  be  done.  Only  so  can  they  be  said  to 
make  an  experiment.  Whether  teacher  or  pupils  do  the 
actual  manipulation  is  a  matter  of  minor  importance.  It 
is  true,  indeed,  that  some  first-hand  acquaintance  with 
apparatus  is  necessary  to  bring  home  to  the  pupils  quite 
clearly  the  actual  conditions  under  which  experiments  are 
worked,  the  need  for  exactness  and  care,  and  the  difficulty 
of  securing  just  the  conditions  desired.  But  this  may 
easily  be  carried  to  excess,  under  the  belief  that  children 
understand  an  experiment  better  when  they  manipulate 
the  apparatus  themselves.  This  is  not  necessarily  the 
case,  and,  moreover,  not  mere  understanding  but  origina- 
tion is  what  is  wanted.  So  that  in  many  cases  it  is 
better  for  the  teacher  to  work  the  experiment  luider 
the  direction  of  the  pupils,  taking  care  that  they  can 
clearly  see  each  step.  In  this  way  the  attention  of  the 
pupils  is  less  likely  to  be  distracted  from  the  pui*pose 
and  intention  of  the  experiment  to  mere  accidental  con- 
ditions and  accessories.  Moreover,  as  tlie  apparatus  is 
manipulated    more    skilfully   the    test   of   the   suggestion 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  93 

is  more  satisfactory,  and  the  whole  class  is  advancing  in 
the  test  at  the  same  rate,  and  that  more  speedily  than 
would  be  possible  to  the  pupils  if  working  by  them- 
selves. 

Thus,  the  educational  advantages  may  be  greater  when  the 
pupils  simply  direct  and  watch  an  experiment  than  when 
tliey  both  plan  and  carry  it  out.  They  are  certainly  greater 
than  in  the  common  practice,  in  which  the  teacher  plans  and 
directs  the  experiment  and  the  pupils  do  nothing  but  the 
manual  arangements.  The  value  of  such  lessons  is  limited 
to  the  training  they  give  in  manual  dexterity ;  of  the  intellec- 
tual benefit  of  experimenting  they  have  not  an  atom.  This  is 
recognised  to  be  the  case,  even  with  students  of  University 
age,  by  so  great  a  scientific  authority  as  Sir  William  Kamsay. 
He  writes  :  "In  my  opinion,  far  too  much  stress  is  laid, 
now-a-days,  on  what  is  called  '  practical  work.'  To  take  my 
own  subject,  it  is  possible  to  have  quite  an  intelligent  idea 
of  chemistry,  without  ever  having  handled  a  test-tube  or 
touched  a  balance.  Lectures  on  chemistry  may  be  well 
illustrated  experimentally,  and  the  necessary  theories  de- 
monstrated by  the  lecturer.  Of  course,  that  will  never 
make  a  chemist ;  but  we  are  not  talking  of  making 
chemists,  we  are  disciissing  the  best  way  of  giving  a 
general  education,  and  I  maintain  that  to  spend  several 
hours  a  day  in  practical  work  is,  if  not  a  waste  of  time,  at 
least  a  work  of  supererogation."^  If  this  is  true  with 
respect  to  young  men  it  is  certainly  not  less  true  in  the 
case  of  school  children,  whose  want  of  manipulative  power 
makes  the  possible  waste  of  time  much  greater. 

Lessons  such   as  have   just   been  considered   are   verv 

different  in   conception  from   many   of   those   commonly 

called   '  heuristic'     A   confusion   seems   all   too  common 

between  the  discovery  and  observation  of  facts  and  the 

1  Unii-ersity  Review,  vol.  i.,  pp.  356-7. 


94  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

conceptual  analysis  of  them.     Hence,  it  seems  frequently 
to  be   thought   all  important  that  children 
The  Essence  of  should  discover  their  own  facts  ;  the  use  they 
Methods.  then  make  of  them  afterwards  appears  to  be 

considered  of  very  minor  weight.  So  the 
teacher  is  careful  to  cause  his  pupils  to  do  their  own  observ- 
ing, but  he  quite  complacently  draws  their  inferences  for 
them,  if  not  altogether  yet  in  the  greater  pai-t.  He  may, 
indeed,  lead  them  to  take  individual  steps  in  reasoning,  but 
the  guidance  of  the  whole  process  he  keeps  in  his  own  hands. 
He  does  not  allow  investigation  of  wrong  suggestions ; 
indeed,  he  seldom  asks  for  a  suggestion  till  the  end  of  the 
lesson,  when  he  calls  for  it  as  a  '  generalisation '  from 
what  has  been  observed.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  urged 
that  the  whole  lesson  should  be  an  attempt  by  the  pupils 
to  work  out  their  own  suggested  explanations.  It  is  certain 
that  only  in  this  way  will  they  get  even  a  glimmering  of 
a  true  conception  of  scientific  method,  for  nothing  more 
unlike  the  actual  way  in  which  discoveries  of  the  secrets 
of  nature  are  made  than  the  usual  *  science  '  lesson  can 
well  be  imagined. 

9.  It  has  been  said  that  every  theory — or  general  mode 
of  solution  of  a  problem — should  be  applied 

Lessons  which     ^s   widely  as  possible.     This    is    qiiite    as 
aim  at  Applying  ,.  -,  <        •     i         •  •      ,i       -,• 

Knowledge.  essential  a  step  m  leanung  as  is  the  dis- 

covery of  t  he  theory  itself.  For  theories  are 
abstract  statements  of  relations :  and  a  relation  has  value 
in  the  structure  of  knowledge  only  so  far  as  its  range  is 
apprehended,  or,  in  other  words,  so  far  as  we  know  the 
kind  of  things  whose  connection  it  expresses.  The  mental 
activity  involved  in  applying  a  theory  is  conceptual,  like 
that  involved  in  arriving  at  it,  but  obviously  the  end  of  the 
latter  process  is  the  starting-point  of  the  former.  The 
direction    of    the   thought    is    essentially   deductive    and 


FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  95 

synthetic  instead  of  inductive  and  analytic'  Not  that  the 
two  forms  of  inference  are  ever  entirely  separated.  As  has 
been  seen,  in  the  inductive  process  every  suggestion  has  to  be 
tested  by  comparison  with  facts  of  the  results  which  can  be 
deductively  inferred  to  follow  from  it.  So  in  all  deductive 
application  of  rules,  principles,  and  other  theories,  it  is 
necessary  to  analyse  the  cases  to  which  we  apply  them 
in  order  to  isolate  in  thought  that  aspect  of  the  concrete 
thing  or  event  to  which  the  particular  theory  is  applicable. 
For  it  must  be  remembered  that  no  one  theory  explains 
every  aspect  of  any  concrete  experience. 

In  lessons,  or  parts  of  lessons,  then,  in  which  the  aim 

is  to  see  the  bearings  of  the  general  and 
MeSfod  abstract  knowledge  which  has  resulted  from 

lessons  of  the  kind  last  considered,  the  general 
order  of  thought  will  be  deductive,  though  it  will  not 
naturally  be  expressed  in  any  of  the  traditional  syllogistic 
forms.  These,  indeed,  result  from  a  logical  analysis  of 
thought  into  its  elements,  and  are  not  a  psychological 
expression  of  the  order  thought  consciously  takes.  But 
the  essential  elements  signified  by  the  terms  '  Major 
Premise,'  '  Minor  Premise,'  and  '  Conclusion '  will  be 
present. 

The  first  step,  then,  will  be  the  clear  formulation  of  the 

general  principle  which  is  to  be  applied — the 

i.  Formula-       maior  premise  as  logic  calls  it.     If  this  was 

tion  of  •      1     ■  •  .         1 

Principle.  arrived  at  m  some  previous  lesson  it  will  be 

Avell  to  review  briefly  the  evidence  on  which 

it  is  based,  so  that  it  may  be  certain  that  the  general 

statement  has  not  become  a  mere  form  of  words. 

The  next  step  is  the  determination  of  the  direction  in 

which  this  principle  is  to  be  applied — the  logical  minor 

premise.     All  general  principles,  rules,  and  other  abstract 

'  See  Welton,  Logical  Bases  of  Education,  pp.  119-135. 


06  FORM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

statements  of  relation  are  applicable  in  a  variety  of  ways, 

and  it  is  well  in  teaching  to  deal  with  these 

u.  Form  of        separately.     In  working  out  the  applications 
Application.        ,   ^    ,    ,    •\.  .='.,.         ^^   ,        ,. 

by   deductive   reasoning   it   is  easy   to   snp 

m   unconsciously    some    other   assumption.      It    is    well, 

then,  to  examine  carefully  the  whole  process  of  inference 

when  it  is  completed  in  order  to  make  explicit  any  such 

implicitly  made  assumptions.     Especially  is  this  necessary 

in  demonstrative  geometry,  where  axioms  and  postulates 

are  apt  to  be  assumed  quite  unconsciously. 

Finally,  the  results  of  the  inference  should  be  tested  by 
iii  Verifica-  ^^^^  form  of  appeal  to  experience  which  is 
tion.  appropriate  to  the  matter  in  hand. 

As  in  all  lessons  which  exercise  conceptual  activity,  the 
essential  point  to  secure  is  that  the  in- 
Modes  of  ferences    are    made    by    the    pupils    them- 

Learning  and  g^lves.  To  follow  the  inference  of  another 
is  to  accept  knowledge  at  second-hand.  Such 
may  be  necessary  at  times,  for  to  understand  a  demon- 
stration of  some  matter  in  relation  to  one's  life  is  better 
than  to  be  ignorant  of  it.  But  in  so  far  as  this  is  done 
the  lesson  falls  under  the  first  class  we  considered.  The 
only  value  it  can  have  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  kind 
of  lessons  we  are  now  considering  is  that  it  may  serve  as  a 
model  on  which  future  attempts  at  inference  may  be  based. 
In  itself  it  has  not  developed  the  power  of  reasoning,  but 
only  the  lower  power  of  understanding.  The  pupils'  minds 
have  been  receptive,  whereas  in  inference  they  are  searching 
and  critical. 

As  in  this  respect  the  aim  of  this  kind  of  lesson  is  the 
same  as  that  of  those  we  last  considered,  it  follows  that 
the  modes  of  stimulating  learning  to  which  the  teacher  can 
appeal  are  essentially  similar.  Of  these,  then,  we  need 
say  no  more  than  to  insist  that  questions  which  suggest 


FOKM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  07 

conclusious  are  fatal  to  any  attempt  to  secure  the  ritcht 
mental  activity  iu  the  pupils. 

10.  The  last  broad  class  of  lessons  consists  of  those  in 
which  the  result  aimed  at  by  the  pupils  is 
Lessons  which  ^^^terial,  though  the  teacher,  of  course, 
developing  regards  the  attainment  of  that  resvilt  as 
Sd  ExTcutTve  ^''''^^^  *o  soii^e  mental  benefit  to  be 
Skill.  derived  by  the  pupils.     But  the  pupils'  pur- 

pose is  emphatically  to  learn  to  do  something 

and  to  show  some  visible  result  of  their  doing to  deal 

in  some  efEective  way  with  some  pai-t  of  their  physical 
surroundings.  All  such  doing  is  based  in  the  first  instance 
upon  imitation,  and  whatever  constructive  originality  may 
be  afterwards  attained  will  be  found  on  examination  to  be 
imitation  modified  to  meet  new  circumstances.  Individuals 
are  naturally  endowed  in  very  various  degrees  with  the 
practical  intelligence  which  ma.kes  appropriate  and  com- 
plete such  modification  to  meet  new  conditions.  But 
whether  the  innate  capacity  be  small  or  great  training 
helps  to  develop  it. 

Such  training  is  not  mere  practice.  It  involves  an 
analysis  of  purpose  and  process,  leading  to  the  formula- 
tion of  general  rides  of  doing— or  principles  of  the  art  or 
craft  dealt  with — similar  to  that  by  which  general  theories 
of  knowledge  are  attained.  But  there  is  the  important 
difference  that  in  drawing  out  general  rules  of  constructive 
physical  activity  much  more  may  be  done  by  the  teacher 
than  is  permissible  in  the  other  case.  For  here  such 
principles  are  instrumental,  whereas  there  they  were  the 
goal  aimed  at.  Moreover,  in  the  application  of  these 
prmciples  the  test  is  rather  conformity  with  recognised 
canons  of  taste  than  simple  agreement  with  fact.  Here 
again,  then,  the  teacher  has  a  part  to  play  which  has  little 
analogue  in  the  lessons  of   application  considered  in  the 

PR.  TO,  7 


98  POEM    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

last  section,  in  that  he  is  to  the  pupil  the  ultimate  judge 
of  beauty,  appropriateness,  and  taste.  Whilst,  then,  in 
lessons  of  this  kind  the  pupils  are  most  obviously  engaged 
in  independent  physical  activities,  yet  their  attitude  of 
mind  should  have  a  larger  admixture  of  receptiveness  and 
docility  than  is  desirable  in  lessons  in  which  their  activity 
is  conceptual. 

For  the  effective  use  of  physical  activities  it  is  necessary 

that  the  purpose  to  be  attained  be  clearly 
Meufod  apprehended.      It  is  essential,   in  the  next 

place,  that  the  possibilities  of  that  form  of 
active  dealing  with  physical  things  should  be  recognised, 
so  that  the  means  adopted  to  reach  the  desired  end  may 
be  suitable.  And,  lastly,  there  must  be  ability  to  judge  how 
far  the  end  has  been  attained,  and  in  what  directions  any 
required  alteration  should  be  made.  The  steps  of  method 
in  lessons  of  this  type  should,  therefore,  satisfy  these 
conditions. 

In  the  first  place,  there  must  be  a  clear  apprehension  of 

the  result  it  is  desired  to  attain.  This  result 
i.  Analysis  of  may  be  the  copy  of  some  process  or  result  set 
Attained    ^       before  the  pupils  for  imitation,  or  it  may  be 

the  invention  of  some  new  process  or  result 
to  suit  certain  given  conditions.  In  either  case  there  must 
be  an  analysis  of  this  desired  result :  in  the  former,  a  per- 
ceptual analysis  of  the  object  or  process  ;  in  the  latter,  an 
analysis  in  imagination  of  the  conditions  to  be  met.  The 
results  of  such  analysis  may  often  be  usefully  formulated 
in  a  general  rule  or  princij)le. 

In  the  next  place,  there  must  come  the  determination  of 

means  and  the  actual  doing.  In  all  lessons 
and  Critkism.    ^^  imitation,  of  course,  the  means  are  given 

as  well  as  the  result,  but  in  lessons  of 
origination  the  determination  of  means  is  essential.      For 


FOKM    OF    INSTRUCTION.  99 

example,  if  the  pupils  are  set  to  make  au  artistic  design,  the 
purpose  to  which  the  design  is  to  be  put  must  be  clearly 
apprehended,  and  must  determine  the  material  in  which  it 
should  be  expressed.  These  two  considerations  conjointly 
should  suggest  the  kind  of  design  which  is  appropriate,  and 
only  by  this  twofold  appropriateness  can  its  value  be  tested. 
The  means  being  decided  upon,  the  actual  execution  takes 
place,  and  of  course  this  should  be  attended,  step  by  step, 
Avith  criticism  of  the  result  so  far  attained,  and  with  con- 
sequent alterations  where  desirable  and  possible.  And 
when  the  whole  is  finished,  a  general  review  and  comparison 
of  results  with  original  purpose  should  be  made. 

In  lessons  of  this  type  the  teacher  should  have  little  or 

no  difficidty  in  arousing  desire.  The  wish  to 
Modes  of  do  things  and  to  do  them  well  is  inherent  in 

TeachSi^""*     children,  and  is  only  crushed  with  difficulty 

even  by  such  mechanical  and  deadening 
exercises  as  are  supplied  by  so  many  of  the  draw- 
ing exercises  traditional  in  oiir  primary  schools.  The 
other  functions  of  the  teacher  are  to  lead  the  children  to 
analyse  the  object  of  which  they  are  to  produce  a  copy, 
to  formulate  any  general  principles  of  construction  that 
may  follow  from  such  analysis,  and  to  help  the  pupils 
to  pass  just  criticisms  on  the  results  they  have  achieved. 
In  all  this  his  work  should  be  as  suggestive  as  possible, 
so  as  to  cultivate  gradually  in  the  pupils  the  power  to 
dispense  with  such  giiidance,  though  he  should  not  hesitate 
to  express  clearly  his  own  opinions  on  matters  of  taste  and 
beauty,  showing,  as  far  as  possil)le,  the  considerations  on 
which  his  judgments  are  based.  But  it  is  evident  that  the 
learning  must  be  mainly  through  the  actual  practice  of 
the  appropriate  activities,  and,  consequently,  the  teacher 
should  reduce  the  oral  part  of  such  lessons  to  the  smallest 
limits  consistent  with  effectiveness. 


100  ¥OnU    OF    INSTKUOTION. 

11.  These,  then,  are  the  main  types  of  lessons.     But  the 

classification  must  not  be  pressed  too  rio-or- 

Summary.  i         -n  i         £  -i  !•  i?  i  "^ 

ously.  Examples  oi  several  torms  or  learn- 
ing may  well  come  in  single  lessons,  and  some  lessons 
do  not  fall  exactly  under  either  type  though  they  may 
approximate  to  one.  Such,  for  instance,  are  many  lessons 
in  literature  which  appeal  to  the  imagination,  the  taste, 
or  the  emotions,  rather  than  to  the  intellect.  These 
approach  sufficiently  near  to  lessons  of  the  first  class  for 
what  was  said  of  them  to  be  broadly  applicable,  but  there 
will  be  many  differences  in  the  details  of  treatment  if  the 
different  mental  effect  is  to  be  produced.  Such  classifica- 
tion of  lessons,  then,  is  intended  merely  as  suggestive. 

The  essential  differences  in  the  processes  of  learning  are 
those  which  mark  off  the  perceptual  from  the  conceptual 
activities,  and  these  demand,  as  has  been  seen,  different 
attitudes  on  the  pai-t  of  the  pupils  towards  knowledge  ;  in 
the  former  case  receptive,  in  the  latter  inquiring  and 
critical.  Of  course,  even  this  is  nut  absolute  ;  a  child  may 
well  inquire  after  facts  and  seek  to  find  new  ones,  but  in 
the  presence  of  the  fact  he  must  be  -willing  to  accept  it  for 
what  it  is ;  in  a  word  he  must  be  docile.  Constructive 
activities  are  pei'ceptual  in  their  execution,  but  in  their 
origin  they  may  be  either  perceptual  or  conceptual.  In 
the  former  case,  again,  the  mind  is  receptive  and  docile, 
attempting  to  imitate  as  closely  as  possible  a  given  model. 
In  the  latter  case  the  result  to  be  reahsed  is  constructed  by 
the  mind  itself  by  imagination  working  on  the  results  of 
conceptual  analysis,  and  the  executive  process  is  an  attempt 
to  give  expression  to  this  original  idea ;  here  the  mind  is 
the  faithful  executant  of  its  own  ideal  constructions,  it 
copies  indeed,  but  it  first  supplies  tlie  model  to  be  copied. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  :     rREPARATORY. 

1.  As  the  aim  of  education  is  to  lead  the  young  into 
true    and    faithful    relations    of     knowing, 
Functions  of      feeling,  and  acting   in   the  world  in  which 
Teaching.  their  lives  are  to  be  passed,  so  everything 

which  is  taught  them  in  school  must  be 
justified  by  a  consideration  of  the  part  it  plays  in  this 
general  process. 

When  this  test  is  applied  it  becomes  evident  that  lan- 
guage is  the  most  fundamental  and  one  of 
Language  as  an  t,he  most  universal  means  a4,  the  disposal  of 
Thought.  ^^®    educator.      Without    some    system    of 

significant  signs  that  general  or  conceptual 
thought,  which  organises  our  experiences  so  as  to  make 
them  intelligible,  woi;ld  be  impossible.  Without  such 
siffns  man  could  never  rise  above  the  intellectual  level  of 
the  beast ;  his  life  would  be  a  mere  series  of  perceived 
happenings,  very  imperfectly  held  together  here  and  there 
by  vaguely  apprehended  bonds  of  habit,  but  in  no  sense 
understood,  and  consequently  in  no  sense  fitted  to  guide 
conduct  in  new  circumstances,  or  to  help  the  individual 
to  impi'ove  the  conditions  in  which  he  lives.  Everything 
that  is  characteristically  human  in  life  is,  therefore,  depend- 
ent upon  the  use  of  some  form  of  language,  for  language  is 
essentially  a  system  of  signs  by  which  experiences  can  be 

101 


102  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

marked,  examined,  recalled,  classified,  and  generally  made 
more  or  less  systematic. 

But  we  must  go  further.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
human  life  is  essentially  social.  A  man  does 
ISSmentT  not  originate  his  thoughts  and  live  his  intel- 
Common  Intel-  lectual  life  cut  off  from  his  fellows.  On  the 
lectual  Life.  contrary,  he  lives  in  free  interchange  of  ideas 
with  them,  an  interchange  in  which  even  the  most  gifted 
individual  receives  much  more  than  he  gives.  For  he 
receives  the  results  of  the  accumulated  experiences  of  the 
ages,  and  in  them  he  finds  the  inspiration  of  any  addition 
he  may  make  to  human  wisdom  or  to  human  knowledge. 

Such  community  of  intellectual  goods  is  rendered  pos- 
sible only  by  a  common  language.  Were  the  whole 
world  to  speak  one  language,  then  doubtless  increase 
of  human  knowledge  would  advance  more  rapidly  tlian 
it  does,  for  the  time  now  spent  in  acquiring  foreign 
languages  could  then  be  given  to  the  mastery  and  utili- 
sation of  ideas.  The  plurality  of  the  languages  of  civili- 
sation renders  it-  obligatory  on  all  higher  schools  to  teach 
their  pupils  some  of  these  means  of  entering  into  the 
thoughts  and  lives  of  other  nations.  But  in  the  primary 
school  this  problem  does  not  confront  us.  The  brief 
duration  of  that  school  life  confines  us  to  the  mother 
ton<^ue,  and  indeed  those  whoso  formal  instruction  ceases 
at  fourteen  years  of  age  have  much  more  of  the  thought 
and  experience  of  niankmd  accessible  to  them  in  their 
mother  tongue  than  they  are  likely  to  assimilate. 

It  may  be  urged,  however,  that  there  is  no  need  to  teach 

the  mother  tongue,  because  it  is  necessarily 

Reasons  for       acquired  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life. 

mS?? o^'niie.  Even  when  this  has  not  been  advanced  in 

theory  it  has  frequently  been  acted  on  in 

practice,  and  that  in  Enghsh  schools  of  all  grades.     But 


PREPARATOnT.  103 

when  we  consider  what  is  involved  in  the  conception  of 
language  as  an  instrument  of  culture — that  is,  of  ability 
to  share  in  the  best  thought  of  man — we  must  acknow- 
ledge that  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life  does  not 
secure  a  sufficient  development  of  that  instniment.  For, 
surely,  it  must  be  demanded  that  language  should  be  both 
copious  and  exact.  If  it  is  not  copious,  the  mental  life  is 
starved,  for  the  greater  number  of  men's  thoughts  are 
unknown  and  must  remain  unknown  to  one  who  cannot 
understand  the  terms  in  which  they  are  expressed.  If  it 
is  not  exact  the  mental  life  is  largely  sterile.  Confusion 
of  speech  implies  confusion  of  thought,  for  we  generally 
think  in  words,  as  well  as  use  words  to  express  our  thoughts 
to  others.  He  who  has  no  clear  and  definite  meanings 
behind  the  words  he  uses  has  vague  and  confused  thoughts 
himself,  and  can  only  attain  a  vague  and  confused  idea  of 
the  speech  of  others,  for  that  speech  conveys  to  him  exactly 
what  the  ideas  it  calls  up  in  his  mind  are  worth  to  him. 
From  such  confused  thoughts  no  fruitful  new  thoughts 
can  issue. 

This   being    so,    surely   it  cannot  be   maintained   that 
definite  instruction  in  the  mother  tongue  is 

Increased  j^ot  needed,  for  it  would  be  hard  to  deny 

M&iStsrv  ov6r  , 

Language.  ^^^^  ^^6  speech  of  many,  if  not  most,  people 

is  both  restricted  and  slipshod.     When  we 

compare  the  four  or  five  hundred  words  which  form  the 

common     speech    of    the    uneducated    with    the    fifteen 

thousand  words  or  so  of  which  Shakespeare's  vocabulary 

consisted,  we   see   how  little  the  unconscious   picking-up 

of  language  by  imitation  of  those  around  him  will  do  to 

enable   a   child   to   read  with   any   understanding   works 

expressed   largely    in    what   is    to  him  a  foreign  tongue. 

We  are  always  apt  to  be  misled  by  general  terms.    Because 

'  EngUsh  '  is  a  common  name  for  the  meagre  and  slovenly 


104  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

speech  of  ordinary  intercourse,  and  for  the  language  of 
some  of  the  greatest  writers  the  world  has  seen,  we  are  too 
ready  to  assume  that  all  who  can  use  English  in  the 
former  sense  can  understand  it,  even  if  they  do  not  use  it, 
in  the  latter.  This  is  a  profound  mistake.  Literary 
English  is  practically  a  foreign  language  to  a  large  number 
of  English  people.  It  is  not  only  that  many  of  the  words 
used  convey  little,  if  any,  meaning  to  them,  but  that  the 
constructions  are  so  unfamiliar  as  to  be  nearly  or  quite 
unintelligible,  and,  above  all,  that  the  trains  of  thought 
are  far  more  continuous  than  any  to  which  they  are  accus- 
tomed in  ordinary  life. 

It  follows  that  the  school  must  teach  the  mother 
tongue,  remembering  that  it  is  largely  an  unknown 
tongue  to  the  pupils,  and  that  unless  it  is  mastered  to 
some  considerable  extent,  nearly  the  whole  realm  of  htera- 
ture  is  closed  to  them.  When  the  pupils  leave  the  school 
it  is  absurd  to  expect  them  to  find  enjoyment  in  books 
whose  language  they  have  but  very  imperfectly  mastered. 
Still  more  absurd  is  it  if  their  whole  contact  with  books 
has  been  such  as  to  convince  them  that  the  reading  of 
books  is  a  repellant  and  utterly  uninteresting  task.  And 
although  there  has  been  considerable  improvement  in 
school  reading  books  of  late  years,  yet  it  remains  true  that 
many  of  those  still  used  in  school  can  be  expected  to  fulfil 
no  other  function  than  to  disgust  their  readers. 

This  has  led  us  to  a  further  aim  the  school  should  have. 
It  should  try  to  rouse  in  its  pupils  an  interest 
Cultivation  of  [^i.  hterature,  and  to  give  them  knowledge  of 
Literature.  where  and  how  that  interest  may  be  satis- 
fied. The  reading  of  good  literature  is 
one  of  the  best  and  most  easily  accessible  modes  of 
employing  the  leisure  time  of  hfe,  a  time  which  the  work- 
ing classes  are  rightly  striving  to  increase  in  amount,  bi^^ 


PREPARATORY.  105 

which,  when  badly  employed,  is  no  blessing,  bnt  a  curso. 
The  most  severe  condemnation  which  can  be  passed  on  any 
school  is  that  it  sends  its  pupils  out  into  the  world  with 
no  tastes  developed  and  no  habits  formed  to  lead  them 
both  in  the  present  and  in  the  future  to  employ  their 
leisure  hours  in  a  manner  worthy  of  rational  and  civilised 
beings. 

2.  The  school,  then,  must  seek  to  train  its  pupils  in  both 

the  closely  related  functions  of  expressing 
Foundations  clearly  their  own  ideas  and  of  understanding 
Teaching.  ^he  expression  of  the  ideas  of  others.     Its 

general  method  of  doing  this  should  be  a 
development  of  the  process  by  which  the  child  learns  the 
language  of  ordinary  intercourse.  Eeduced  to  its  simplest 
terms,  this  is  that  some  more  or  less  clearly  apprehended 
idea  is  connected  with  its  appropriate  verbal  expression,  and 
that  a  desire  to  produce  that  expression  arises  and  starts 
an  imitative  process  which  is  persisted  in  until  the  point  is 
reached  where  the  child's  verbal  expression  is  understood 
by  those  around  him.  Reception  and  imitative  expression 
go  hand  in  hand,  and  each  is  dominated  by  desire  and 
interest.  For  it  is  not  every  portion  of  the  speech  of  those 
around  him  that  the  child  tries  to  reproduce,  but  only  those 
portions  of  it  which  relate  to  experiences  which  interest 
him  and  which  he  desires  to  repeat  or  to  avoid. 

When  school  teaching  begins  the  young  child  has  already 
taken  the  first  steps  in  the  acquirement  of  language. 
But  it  is  evident,  first,  that  his  ideas  are  vague,  imperfect, 
and  not  infrequently  inaccurate  as  well  as  extremely 
limited  in  extent,  for  they  refer  only  to  those  things 
which  interest  him,  and  the  baby  is  interested  in  but  few 
things.  Secondly,  it  is  plain  that  his  vocabulary  is,  and 
must  be,  equally  inexact  and  meagre.  And  thirdly,  it  is 
found  that  his  utterance  is  also  more  or  less  imperfect  and 


106  THE    TEACHINO    OF    ENGLISH  : 

inexact.  This  last  named  characteristic  is  due  to  two 
main  causes.  He  has  not  yet  learnt  to  co-ordinate  properly 
the  movements  of  the  various  organs  employed  in  speech, 
and  he  has  not  done  this  even  as  far  as  is  physiologically 
possible  to  him,  because  those  around  him  have  accepted 
his  baby  utterances  as  correct,  and  have  even  encour- 
aged his  imperfections  of  speech  by  making  his  prattle 
the  common  mode  of  talking  to  which  his  attention 
is  di'awn. 

3.  It  is  not  our  pui-pose  in  this  book  to  discuss  the  work 
of  the  infant  school,^  but  it  is  necessary  to 
Language  understand  its  general  aims  and   character 

Teaching  in  •  q^^qj.  to  make  the  work  of  the  upper 
the  Infant  .     n  ■,       -kt         • 

School.  school  a  natural  development  oi  it.     JN  ow,  m 

the  teaching  of  language  the  essential  work  of 
the  infant  school  is  to  increase  at  once  the  range  of  ideas 
and  of  vocabulary,  to  secure  that  the  ideas  gradually  grow 
in  clearness,  and  that  there  is  a  corresponding  improvement 
in  the  accuracy  and  exactness  with  which  speech  is  used, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  improve  articulation  and  pronun- 
ciation. 

The  great  means  for  securing  these  results  is  talking. 

The  understanding  and  the  use  of  speech 
Increase  in  should  have  made  very  considerable  advances 
Speedi*'^  before    reading     and     writing    are    begun. 

Every  lesson  in  the  school,  nay  more,  every 
piece  of  intercourse  of  whatever  kind  between  teacher  and 
pupils,  is  a  lesson  both  in  the  understanding  and  in  the  use 
of  speech.  And  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  former 
precedes  the  latter.  The  baby  shows  that  he  understands 
words  before  he  can  use  them,  and  throughout  life  the 
vocabulary   we  cau   understand    is    wider   than    that   we 

1  See  p.  35. 


PREPARATORY.  107 

habitually  use.  The  teacher,  therefore,  while  ahvays  talk- 
ing in  simple  language,  should  not  attempt  to  confine 
her  vocabulary  within  tli6  narrow  limits  of  the  actual 
speech  of  her  pupils.  She  should  remember  that  words 
derive  their  meaning  from  the  connection  and  manner  in 
which  they  are  used,  and  she  may  and  should  employ  many 
words  which  her  pupils  do  not  use,  only  taking  care  that 
their  reference  and  meaning  stand  out  clearly.  Never 
should  she  attempt  to  teach  the  meaning  of  a  new  word  by 
definition.  That  is  not  how  children  pick  up  speech.  A 
definition  is  the  end  of  many  experiences  of  the  use  of  the 
word,  not  the  beginning  thereof. 

Bearing  in  mind  that  speech  is  essentially  learnt  through 
imitation,  the  teacher  should  take  care  that  her  own  use  of 
words  is  accurate,  exact,  and  appropriate,  and  that  her 
sentences  and  questions  are  well  constructed ;  in  short,  she 
should,  as  a  teacher  as  well  as  an  individual,  strive  to 
cultivate  in  herself  the  habit  of  clear  and  exact  expression. 
She  will  not  demand  or  expect  that  her  little  pupils 
shall  express  themselves  as  well  as  she  does.  She  will 
recognise  that  in  speech  as  in  other  forms  of  human 
activity,  perfection  only  comes  throitgh  much  practice, 
beginning  at  first  in  crudest  imitation,  and  gradually 
improving  as  proficiency  is  slowly  attained.  She  will 
give  no  formal  lessons  in  expression,  but  she  will  gently 
suggest  improved  forms  of  setting  forth  meaning  by 
drawing  the  child  little  by  little  to  make  what  he 
wishes  to  say  clear  first  to  himself  and  then  to 
others. 

Similarly,  she  will  gradually  lead  him  on  to  a  fiiller  and 
fuller  expression  of  what  is  in  his  mind,  and  in  that  wav 
cultivate  in  him  the  beginnings  of  the  power  of  continuous 
expression.  She  will  not  be  keen  to  mark  faults  of  con- 
struction ;  she  may  well  leave  that  in  great  part  to  the  senior 


108  TnE    TEACHING    OP    ENGLISH  : 

school,  but  she  will  aim  at  securing  clearness  of  arrange- 
ment as  an  essential  part  of  clearness  of  expression.  Her 
chief  aim  will  be  to  develop  fluency  and  confidence,  and 
to  train  in  consecutive  thought  and  expression.  Every 
lesson,  as  has  been  said,  is  a  means  for  doing  this,  and 
every  lesson  should  be  so  used.  Of  course,  the  continuity 
of  expression  attained  will  in  any  case  be  small.  The 
thoughts  of  little  children  are  fragmentaiy  and  incomplete 
on  every  subject,  and  the  teacher  in  these  early  years 
tries  only  to  get  real  childish  thought  expressed  in  natural 
childish  language. 

It  is  only  natural  modes  of  expression  that  she  will  en- 
courage. Hence,  though  she  will  train  her  little  pupils  to 
express  themselves  in  sentences  when  they  are  narrating 
or  describing,  she  will  carefully  avoid  the  unintelligent 
pedantry  which  insists  on  every  answer  to  a  question  being 
couched  in  a  '  complete  sentence.'  Whether  a  sentence  is  a 
suitable  answer  to  a  question  depends  on  the  form  of  the 
question ;  to  require  it  at  all  times  is  to  depart  widely  from 
the  use  of  language  as  a  medium  for  the  interchange  of 
ideas.  Question  and  answer  frequently  express  between 
them  but  one  fact  or  one  idea,  and  continuity  of  thought  in 
the  child's  mind  is  only  secured  when  the  answer  he  gives 
expresses  the  end  of  the  thought  which  began  with  his  appre- 
hension of  the  question.  To  demand  that  in  answer  to  such 
a  question  as,  "  What  do  you  see  on  the  table  ?  "  a  child 
should  reply,  "  I  sec  a  book  on  the  table,"  is  actually  to 
hinder,  and  that  seriously,  the  use  of  language  as  a  ready 
expression  of  thought,  for  it  compels  the  child  to  pause  till 
he  has  ai-rested  his  thought,  and,  as  it  were,  stood  it  on  its 
head,  before  he  presents  it  for  acceptance.  Moreover,  can 
any  nicans  be  imagined  much  better  calculated  to  convince 
the  child  that  life  and  language  in  the  school  are  very 
different  things   from  the  real  life  and  language  outside. 


PEEPAEATORT.  109 

and  so  to  promote  that  dislocation  between  school  and  life 
which  is  the  most  fatal  obstacle  to  educative  eifort? 

The  teacher's  iutci'est  in  developing  at  once  her 
pupils'  mental  life  and  their  power  of  ex- 
of^Utter^^c^  pressing  it  must  not,  however,  lead  her  to 
forgot  that  improvement  in  the  mechanism 
of  speech  is  also  to  be  sought.  Continual  practice  in 
faulty  utterance  make3  correction  of  such  defects  more 
and  more  difficult,  until  their  cure  becomes  practically 
impossible.  In  all  speech  exercises,  therefore,  the  teacher 
should  endeavour  to  effect  a  gradual  improvement  in  the 
clearness  and  purity  of  utterance  of  her  pupils.  To  do  this 
and  yet  not  to  hinder  the  development  of  fluency,  to  care  for 
the  mechanism  of  speech  without,  by  interference  with  its 
working,  clogging  the  freedom  of  that  working,  is  one  of 
the  fine  arts  of  teaching  and  the  outcome  of  that  sympa- 
thetic tact  which  no  text-book  can  teach.  All  a  book  can 
do  is  to  urge  the  conjoined  aim  on  the  teacher's  attention. 

In  order  to  train  utterance  effectively  it  is  essential 
that  the  teacher  should  be  at  home  in  the  theory  as  well  as 
in  the  practice  of  speech  ;  she  should  not  only  herself 
possess  a  clear  and  pure  utterance,  but  she  should  have 
studied  the  mechanism  and  mode  of  working  of  the  vocal 
organs.  For  the  child  must  learn  to  articulate  clearly  and 
to  pronounce  correctly  by  imitation,  and  early  imitation  is 
made  more  effective  when  it  is  possible  to  copy  the  pi'ocess 
as  well  as  the  result.  To  be  able  to  show  a  child  how  to 
use  his  vocal  organs  in  order  to  produce  certain  sounds  is, 
then,  a  necessary  part  of  the  teacher's  outfit. 

It  is  not  our  function  to  set  forth  the  theory  of  utter- 
ance :  in  this,  as  in  other  subjects,  we  must  assume  that 
the  teacher  has  the  knowledge,  and  try  to  suggest  how 
that  knowleilge  may  be  effectively  brought  to  bear  on 
teaching.     Suffice  it,   then,  to  say  that  special  attention 


110  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

should  be  paid  to  the  mode  in  which  the  children  breathe, 
and  that  short  courses  of  breathing  exercises  should  be  fre- 
quent and  regular  parts  of  the  school  work.  The  correct 
use  of  lips  and  tongue  in  speaking  should  also  receive 
regular  attention.  Many  of  these  exercises  can  profitably 
be  used  in  common  by  the  whole  class  provided  they  are 
said  softly,  as  they  will  tend  to  cure  faults  of  utterance 
almost  universal  amongst  children.  But  every  district 
has  its  own  special  faults,  and  to  the  correction  of  these 
more  particular  attention  should  be  paid.  It  is  not 
meant  that  the  infant  school  teacher  should  endeavour 
to  eliminate  such  provincial  modes  of  pronunciation  as 
do  not  render  speech  indistinct,  but  that  she  should 
note  and  make  a  list  of  those  which  tend  to  render 
utterance  obscure  These  will  generally  be  found  to  be 
connected  with  the  consonants  rather  than  with  the  vowels, 
and  with  the  connections  of  words  rather  than  with  the 
pronunciation  of  single  words.  Jingle  rhymes  bringing  in 
the  difficulties  over  and  over  again— such  as  the  familiar 
'  Peter  Piper  ' — and  quick  patter'rhymes  are  amongst  the 
most  effective  ways  for  helping  the  children  to  overcome 
their  faults  of  articulation. 

Though  much  speech  drill  may  be  done  collectively  so 
long  as  the  groups  are  small,  yet  it  mvist  be  remembered 
that  correction  of  faults  of  utterance  is  as  individual  as 
utterance  itself.  If  the  group  doing  collective  work  is  so 
large  that  the  utterance  of  any  one  child  is  merged  in 
the  collective  utterance,  there  will  often  be  children  who 
simply  repeat  their  faults  unknown  both  to  themselves 
and  to  their  teacher.  Hence,  it  is  evident  that  correction  of 
faults  of  utterance  must  be  largely  individual,  and  must 
be  as  constant  as  the  child's  speech.  In  other  words,  while 
short  set  lessons  on  utterance  will  find  a  place  in  the  school, 
yet  the  function  of  these  is  rather  to  focus  and  to  emphasise 


PREPARATORY.  Ill 

instruction  that  is  going  on  in  every  lesson.  The  teacher 
will  do  well  to  keep  a  record  of  each  child's  individual 
faults  of  utterance,  and,  during  the  set  lessons  in  speech, 
to  give  him  special  drill  in  overcoming  them.  Many 
faults  peculiar  to  individuals  will  be  found  as  well  as  those 
more  or  less  common  to  all  the  children  in  a  class. 

Finally,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the  acquirement  of 
skill  in  utterance,  like  every  other  kind  of  skill,  is  a 
gradual  process.  The  teacher,  therefore,  will  not  expect 
immediate  perfection,  but  will  be  satisfied  if  her  pupils 
approach  continuously,  though  gradually,  nearer  to  the 
standard  she  sets  up  for  their  imitation. 

So  far  we  have  spoken  only  of  training  in  language  as 
an  instrument  of  thought  and  the  expres- 
Stera"t2e°''^°  sion  of  thought.  The  higher  aim  of  using 
language  as  a  means  of  bringing  the  child's 
mind  into  relation  with  thoughts  and  experiences  which 
lie  outside  his  own  narrow  Hfe  must  not  be  forgotten. 
This  is  the  first  function  of  literature,  and  even  in  the 
infant  school  literature  must  have  its  place.  Of  course, 
it  will  be  very  simple  literature,  for  it  must  appeal  to  the 
child,  though  in  a  sense  it  takes  him  out  of  himself. 

The  competent  infant  teacher  will  have  a  copious 
store  of  fairy  tales,  of  simple  verse,  and  of  other 
forms  of  hterature  suitable  to  very  young  children,  and 
she  will  have  cultivated  the  power  of  telling  them  brightly 
and  attractively.  Such  telling  of  stories  and  recitation  of 
simple  verse,  which  by  its  well  marked  rh}i;hm  gives  the 
first  feeling  for  literary  form,  should  form  part  of  the  work 
of  every  day.  The  telling  of  the  story  or  recital  of  the 
verse  should  not  be  interrupted  by  explanations  or  by 
questioning  as  to  meanings  of  words  and  phrases.  That 
is  to  destroy  the  whole  effect  by  dragging  the  child  out  of 
the  world  of  fancy  and  feeling  into  which  the  story  should 


112  THE    TEACHING   OF    ENGLISH: 

lead  him  into  the  dry  matter  of  fact  world  of  dull 
•lessons.'  The  primary  appeal  of  the  literature  lesson 
is  not  to  the  child's  reason,  but  to  his  imagination  and 
emotions. 

Stories  thus  told  by  the  teacher  may  be  told  again  by  the 
children  on  another  occasion,  not  as  tasks  but  as  rewards. 
And  the  children  may  also  be  encouraged  to  tell  in 
class  stories  they  have  been  told  at  home.  Not  every 
story  need  be  new ;  children  love  to  hear  their  favourite 
stories  over  and  over  again.  Nevertheless,  a  teacher  needs 
an  extensive  collection  to  meet  the  tastes  and  needs  of 
children  of  various  temperaments  and  likings,  and  to  avoid 
monotony.  Some  teachers  have  a  natural  gift  for  com- 
posing Uttle  attractive  stories,  and  this  is  good.  But  even 
then  the  old  stories  should  have  their  place ;  they  are  the 
children's  rightful  heritage.  And  if  a  teacher  cannot 
originate  a  good  story  she  had  far  better  tell  one  she  has 
read  than  make  up  a  poor  and  dull  one. 

With  the  very  youngest  such  stories  should  be  told,  but 
as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  without  losing  the  interest  of  the 
little  ones,  reading  should,  little  by  httle,  be  substituted  for 
telling.  For  this  there  are  two  main  reasons.  In  the  first 
place,  the  written  story  has  a  more  perfect  literary  form 
than  most  teachers  can  give  the  told  story,  and  the  habitua- 
tion of  the  children  to  good  literary  form  should  begin 
early.  In  the  second  place,  the  reading  of  interesting 
stories  from  books  is  the  surest  way  of  provoking  in  the 
children  the  desire  to  read  for  themselves. 

4.  This  leads  us  to  consider  bi'iefly  the  first  steps  in  the 
teaching  of  reading.     It  is  customary  now  to 
Teaching  of        postpone  these  to  a  later  year  of  child  life 
Reading  and      than  was  forinerly  common,  and  some  even 
Writing.  ^^.^^  ^j^^  postponement  till  six  or  even  seven 

years  of  age.     The  reason  usually  given  for  this  is  that  the 


PREPARATORY.  113 

young  child  should  be  occupied  with  things  rather  than 
words — a  reason  which  is  altogether  beside  the  mark,  un- 
less it  be  assumed  that  when  once  a  child  begins  to  read 
he  is  going  to  do  little  or  nothing  else.  Of  course,  a  child's 
being  able  to  read  need  not,  and  should  not,  imply  that  he 
spends  a  large  part  of  his  time  over  books  or  that  he 
ceases  to  be  interested  in  things  and  events.  To  the  ques- 
tion of  the  age  at  which  the  teaching  of  reading  should  be 
begun  no  general  answer  can  be  given.  Children  vary 
much  in  the  facility  with  which  they  develop  power  in 
language — a  variation  partly  innate  and  partly  due  to 
their  surroundings.  As  soon  as  a  child  has  a  fair  com- 
mand over  spoken  language,  both  in  understanding  and  in 
employing  it,  and  a  desii-e  to  learn  to  read,  then  the  ap- 
propriate time  has  arrived  for  teaching  him.  Nor  is  the 
learning  a  task  requiring  much  development  of  mental 
power.  A  child  finds  no  more  difficulty  in  recognising 
printed  words  than  in  recognising  other  small  objects  in 
which  he  feels  an  interest.  And  such  recognition  is  the 
fundamental  fact  in  reading. 

The  question  of  the  best  method  of  teaching  a  child  to 
read  is,  therefore,  simply  an  inquiry  into  how 

Teaching.  ^^^^   ^'^    ^®^P   ^"^^   ^^    ^^^^  recognition.     If 

this  were  acknowledged  many  of  the  disputes 
about  the  matter  would  be  set  at  rest.  If  once  it  is  grasped 
that  a  written  or  printed  word  is  a  thing  to  be  recognised — 
a  picture  of  a  familiar  sound — it  is  seen  that  the  child  will 
set  about  recognising  it  just  in  the  same  way  as  he  sets 
about  learning  to  recognise  any  other  new  object.  And 
that  is  by  grasping  it  as  a  whole,  and  attaching  to  it  the 
name  he  hears  other  people  use  in  referring  to  it. 

The  first  steps  in  reading,  as  in  all  other  knowledge,  are 
by  imitation  and  the  formation  of  habit.  The  child  learns 
by  imitation  to  call  an  object  a  cat :  equally  by  imitation 

PR.  TO.  8 


114  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

he  calls  a  printed  symbol  '  cat,'  and  lie  no  more  confuses 
the  printed  symbol  with  the  object  than  he  does  the  spoken 
word.  He  is  quite  capable  of  understanding  that  we  may 
talk  to  the  eye  as  well  as  to  the  ear.  And  as  by  constant 
repetition  his  recognition  of  the  object  and  his  power  to 
name  it  become  instantaneous,  so  similarly  by  practice  does 
his  power  to  recognise  and  name  the  written  or  printed 
word.  And  just  as  we  find  that  recognition  of  objects 
becomes  more  sure  and  ready  when  the  child  is  allowed 
to  draw  their  forms  in  his  own  imperfect  way,  so  it  is  with 
the  recognition  of  written  or  printed  words.  Such  drawing 
we  call  writing. 

From  these  general  considerations  it  appears  that  the 
method  by  which  the  child  learns  to  read  is  to  recognise 
and  name  printed  or  written  words  by  imitation  and  repeti- 
tion, and  that  this  process  is  accelerated  when  from  the 
first  writing  is  combined  with  reading. 

Whatever  method  the  teacher  adopts  in  teaching,  this 

is,  and  must  be,  the  method  of  learning  ; 
The  '  Letter '      ^ud,  evidently,  the  best  method  of  teaching 

is  that  which  most  aids  and  accelerates  the 
natural  method  of  learning.  Many  disquisitions  on 
methods  of  teaching  the  first  steps  of  reading  apparently 
assume  that  the  child  approaches  the  matter  in  a  severely 
logical  and  critical  spirit.    So  we  have  violent  tirades  against 

the  traditional '  alphabetic '  method  of  begin- 
Tie  Alphabetic  ^ing  with  learning  to  name  the  letters  and 

then  spelling  each  word,  on  the  ground  that 
the  names  of  the  letters  when  combined  do  not  give  the  sound 
of  the  word.  Of  course  they  do  not ;  that  never  was  their 
function.  The  letter-natnes  are  names  of  the  constituent 
parts  of  printed  words,  and  their  function  is  to  describe  in 
speech  the  appearance  of  a  word  when  written  or  printed. 
To  object  to  them  that  they  do  not  describe  the  word  as 


PREPARATORY.  115 

heard  is  no  more  to  the  point  than  it  would  be  to  object  to 
an  enumeration  of  the  head,  body,  legs,  tail,  etc.,  of  a  dog, 
on  the  ground  that  the  combination  of  these  does  not  give 
the  dog's  bark. 

That  for  centuries  children  have  learned  to  read  when 
their  teacher  has  followed  the  alphabetic  method  is  certain. 
But  it  is  equally  cei*tain  that  no  child  ever  learned  to  read 
by  that  method :  he  learned  in  spite  of  it.  The  child  is 
not  troubled  by  the  supposed  logical  difficulty  that  the 
sounds  dee,  o,  gee,  when  combined  do  not  give  the  sound  dog, 
simply  because  the  difficulty  never  enters  into  his  head. 
He  is  busy  learning  to  recognise  the  complete  word  and  as 
soon  as  he  does  this  the  d,  o,  g  sink  into  their  pi'oper  places 
as  merely  names  of  parts  of  that  complete  whole. 

The  true  objection  to  the  alphabetic  method  is  that  it  is 
exactly  like  insisting  on  a  child  attending  separately  to  a 
dog's  head,  body,  legs,  tail,  etc.,  before  alloAving  it  to  appre- 
hend and  name  the  animal  as  a  whole.  Thus  it  hinders 
the  child  by  making  him  attend  to  letters  as  independent 
things,  when  they  should  at  first  remain  involved  in  the 
word,  to  which  as  a  whole  his  attention  should  be 
given.  Just  as  the  differentiation  of  parts  follows  recog- 
nition of  a  whole  in  the  case  of  other  objects,  so  it  should 
be  in  the  case  of  those  objects  we  call  visible  words.  In 
the  history  of  mankind  it  was  the  same  with  spoken 
language.  Men  could  talk  long  before  they  analysed  their 
speech  into  letters.  Language  was  long  precedent  to 
alphabets. 

Of  course,  these  objections  apply  equally 'to  all  the  various 
methods  of  teaching  reading  which  are  called 
Methods  '  P^o^i^  '  o^  '  phonetic '  and  which  begin  by 

teaching  the  sounds  of  letters.  These  methods 
are  often  put  forth  as  both  logically  and  psychologi- 
cally perfect.     They  are  neither.     They  are  not  logically 


116  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

defensible,  because  tliey  attempt  to  reach  familiar  sounds 
through  those  that  are  unfamiliar  and  because  they  confuse 
the  analysis  of  the  visible  word  with  that  of  the  spoken  word, 
and  as  reading  is  the  connection  of  these  two,  the  results 
of  the  analysis  of  the  one  have  as  much — and  as  httle — - 
right  to  be  made  the  foundation  of  the  process  as  have 
those  of  the  other.  They  are  not  psychologically  sound, 
because  the  child  has  learnt  to  say  words  as  wholes,  because 
he  apprehends  all  objects  first  as  wholes,  and  because  the 
apprehension  of  parts  naturally  follows  the  apprehension 
of  wholes. 

That  children  learn  to  read  when  the  teacher  uses  this 
method  is  also  certain,  but,  as  when  the  '  alphabet '  method 
is  followed  by  the  teacher,  the  child  learns  just  in  so  far  as 
he  disregards  the  teacher's  method.  We  do  not  mean  that 
this  disregard  is  intentional  and  deliberate,  but  simply  that 
the  child  learns  to  read  words  just  as  fast  as  he  apprehends 
them  as  wholes. 

But  when  a  child  in  learning  to  read  is  made  to 
attend  to  each  letter  separately,  whether  by  its  letter- 
name  or  by  its  soimd-value — which  is,  of  course,  to 
him  only  another  letter-name — its  whole  energies  are 
directed  to  connecting  a  certain  utterance  with  a  visible 
symbol.  Consequently,  it  is  common  to  find  in  children 
thus  taught  a  mechanical  power  of  saying  words  aloud  in 
response  to  seeing  them  on  a  printed  page,  which  is  errone- 
ously called  reading.  A  child  really  reads  only  when  the 
visible  symbol  calls  up  immediately  an  idea,  and  it  is  true 
reading  whether  he  utters  the  spoken  symbol  of  that  idea 
or  not.  All  teaching  to  read  by  making  the  child  attend 
to  letters  and  to  their  combination  as  a  further  conscious 
process  tends  to  produce  that  very  common  and  very  sad 
result  which  is  often,  though  absurdly,  called  'reading 
without  intelligence.' 


PEEPARATORT.  117 

It  is  siicli  objections  as  these,  aud  not  those  due  to  the 
unphonetie  curiosities  of  English,  cogent  and  nnanswer- 
able  as  they  are,  which  lead  us  to  reject  all  methods  of 
teaching,  alphabetic  or  phonetic,  which  begin  by  compelling 
attention  to  the  constituents  of  words  before  the  words  are 
apprehended  as  Avholes. 

We  do  not  say  that  phonic  analysis  has  no  worth 
It  has  its  place,  but  that  place  is  not  in  the 
Place  of  f^j.^1  steps  of  reading.     So,  too,  it  is  needful 

Analysis.  ^.o  know  the  names  of  the  letters,  though  that, 

again,  is  not  the  first  step  in  reading.  Whether 
these  names  are  taught  before  or  after  reading  is  begun 
matters  nothing,  so  long  as  they  are  not  referred  to  in  the 
early  reading  lessons.  It  is  the  same  with  phonic  analysis. 
Its  value  is  to  help  in  securing  correct  utterance,  aud  when- 
ever a  teacher  corrects  a  spoken  word  the  correction  is  made 
by  help  of  the  results  of  phonic  analysis.  Certain  move- 
ments of  the  vocal  chords  have  become  associated  with  the 
production  of  certain  sounds.  When  phonic  analysis  is 
brought  into  connection  with  reading  all  that  is  done  is  to 
make  the  letters  stand  as  signs  of  these  movements.  Thus, 
just  as  when  a  child  can  read  the  word  '  stand  '  the  teacher 
can  wTite  it  on  the  blackboard  as  a  sign  for  a  certain  move- 
ment of  the  whole  body,  so,  when  phonic  analysis  is  entered 
upon,  the  letter  '  f ,'  for  example,  stands  for  placing  tongue, 
lips,  and  teeth  in  a  definite  relation  to  each  other.  Hence, 
by  phonic  analysis  letters  become  signs  of  movements  in  the 
vocal  organs — movements  which  are  ah'eady  habitual  but 
which  have  not  hitherto  been  consciously  apprehended  in 
isolation. 

This  being  so,  it  is  evident  that  the  time  for  phonic 
analysis  is  after  the  child  can  read  a  good  many  words, 
and  that  its  chief  function  is  to  help  him  to  say  words  as 
yet   unfamiliar    in   their    visible    form,    and,    by   saying, 


118  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

recognise  tliem  as  signs  of  familiar  ideas.  The  more 
automatically  this  is  done  the  better :  the  value  and  success 
of  the  process  is  not  in  making  the  so-called  letter-sounds — 
which  in  the  case  of  consonants  are  obviously  wrong,  for 
consonants  have  no  sound-values  by  themselves — but  in 
putting  the  vocal  organs  successively  and  rapidly  into 
certain  positions.  But  further,  such  phonic  analysis  draws 
the  child's  attention  more  explicitly  to  the  exact  form  of 
the  word,  so  that  he  is  less  likely  in  future  to  articulate 
it  indistinctly  or  to  confuse  it  with  other  words  similar 
in  appearance.  That  such  confusion  is  made  is  one  of 
the  arguments  brought  by  those  who  advocate  one  or  other 
of  the  letter  methods  against  the  method  of  teaching 
whole  words  from  the  first.  But  such  mistakes  in  recogni- 
tion are  to  be  expected  in  the  early  stages.  Children 
make  them  in  all  departments  of  their  experience,  but 
nobody  seeks  the  cure  in  an  attempt  to  compel  children 
to  postpone  the  recognition  of  an  object  till  they  have 
named  all  its  parts.  Why  then  shoiild  we  do  so  in  reading  ? 
The  method  of  teacJdng  reading,  therefore,  which  har- 
monises with  the  method  of  learning  is  one 
Summary.  -^yhich    begins    with    words,    which   connects 

writing  with  reading,  which  introduces  phonic  analysis 
later  as  a  help  to  the  recognition  of  other  words,  and, 
above  all,  which  continually  connects  visible  symbol  with 
idea,  which  treats  reading,  indeed,  as  the  understanding 
of  visible  talking. 

Whether  the  first  steps  be  taken  with  printed  letters 
or  script  matters  not  at  all.  In  either  case,  the  children 
will  have  learnt  to  draw  the  necessary  forms  in  earlier 
drawing  lessons,  whether  they  have  been  taught  to  give 
those  forms  the  alphabetic  names  or  not. 

But  even  with  the  best  and  most  interesting  teacher 
children  soon  tire  of  these  early  steps  in  reading,  and  to 


PREPARATORY.  119 

destroy  their  desire  to  learn  is  fatal.  That  above  all  must 
be  kept  alive.  The  lessons  should,  therefore,  at  first  be  very 
short,  not  more  than  ten  minutes  each.  But  as  the  process 
is  so  much  the  formation  of  habit,  and  as  frequency  of  repeti- 
tion is  one  of  the  most  rapid  and  certain  ways  of  establishing 
habits,  so  these  very  short  lessons  should  be  frequent — two 
or  three  every  day  would  not  be  too  many.  Very  few 
words  shovdd  be  taken  in  each.  They  should  be  words  which 
name  objects  in  which  the  children  are  interested,  and 
should  be  repeated  frequently  in  different  connections.  So 
will  progress  be  sure  and  interest  be  maintained,  not  only 
by  the  subjects  chosen,  but  by  the  sense  of  successful  effort 
felt  by  the  children.  The  words  should  not  be  taken  in 
the  order  of  their  length,  but  in  that  of  the  familiarity  and 
closeness  of  appeal  to  the  children's  interests  of  the  ideas 
they  represent.  When  the  teacher  proceeds  by  either  of 
the  letter  methods  length  of  words  is,  no  doubt,  an 
important  factor  in  his  mind.  But  to  the  child  that  is 
quite  unimportant;  he  recognises  a  horse  or  a  cow  as 
readily  as  a  cat  or  a  teacup.  Indeed,  long  words  have  a 
noticeable  attraction  for  children  so  long  as  those  words 
raise  in  their  minds  interesting  ideas. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  :    READING. 

1.  We  have  seen  that  when  a  child  leaves  the  infant 
school  his  knowledge  of  the  mother  tongue 
The  General  should  include  a  fund  of  simple  stories  which 
Work  of  the  -^^  remembers  and  can  tell  in  childish  lan- 
guage, and  of  pretty  verse  which  he  can  re- 
peat ;  some  power  of  expressing  his  ideas  intelligibly  and 
connectedly ;  the  beginnings  of  habits  of  clear  and  distinct 
utterance;  and  abihty  to  read  very  simple  and  familiar 
language  and  to  copy  short  sentences  in  writing. 

The  work  of  the  upper  school  is  to  increase  this  know- 
ledge and  to  develop  this  skill,  and  every  fresh  advance 
should  grow  out  of  the  stage  already  reached.  Throughout, 
the  teacher  should  keep  in  view  the  aim  of  developing  in  his 
pupils  the  threefold  power  to  enter  into  the  expression  of  the 
thoughts  of  others,  to  feel  the  joy  of  appreciating  beauty 
both  in  ideas  and  in  expression,  and  to  express  their  own 
thoughts  and  feelings  clearly  and  appropriately  both  by 
word  of  mouth  and  by  writing.  In  the  senior  school,  how- 
ever, the  various  branches  of  this  instruction  become  more 
differentiated  from  each  other,  and  it  will  be  better,  there- 
fore, to  discuss  each  branch  by  itself,  though  in  actual 
school  work  each  should,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  be  made 
to  bear  upon  each. 

120 


READINO,  121 

2.  The  chief  reason  for  teaching  the  mother  tongue  in 
school  is,  as  has  been  said,  that  the  ordinary 
Reading  to         restricted  intercourse  of  the  child  with  those 
TeacherJ  around  him  does  not  supply  him  with  a  suf- 

ficiently copious  stock  either  of  ideas  or  of 
words.  It  is  only  from  intercourse  with  others  that  this 
enrichment  of  the  mental  and  moral  life  can  take  place, 
and,  consequently,  the  school  must  enlarge  the  circle  of 
intercourse,  and  the  most  important  way  of  doing  this 
is  to  introduce  the  child  to  books  which  interest  him  and 
so  call  forth  and  stimulate  the  desire  to  think  and  talk 
about  the  things  they  contain.  And,  obviously,  the  more 
restricted  intellectually  are  the  child's  home  surroundings 
the  greater  is  the  resi^onsibility  thrown  on  the  school  to 
attempt  to  widen  the  mental  horizon  and  to  evoke  and 
stimulate  intellectual  tastes  and  desires. 

It  follows  that  to  habituate  its  pupils  to  intercourse 
with  books  is  one  of  the  chief  functions  of  the  school. 
Such  intercourse  may  be  either  indii-ect  or  direct.  It  is 
indirect  when  the  pupils  listen  to  a  passage  read  to  them 
by  their  teacher,  and  still  more  so  when  he  tells  them  a 
story  in  his  own  words.  Such  telling  and  reading  of  stories 
have  the  same  function  and  values  in  the  lower  classes 
of  the  senior  school  as  they  have  in  the  infant  school, 
and,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  reading  should  more 
and  more  preponderate  over  telling.  It  gives  the  children 
new  ideas ;  it  enlarges  at  once  their  thoughts  and  their 
speech  ;  it  prompts  them  to  desire  to  master  the  art  of 
reading  more  perfectly.  Even  in  the  upper  classes  read- 
ing to  the  pupils  by  the  teacher  has  its  place.  It  brings 
before  them  beautiful  passages  of  literature  outside  the 
range  of  the  books  to  which  they  have  access,  and  when 
well  done  it  makes  them  appreciate  the  music  of  words  in 
a  way  their  own  private  reading  might  not  do.    Throughout 


122  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

the  school  course,  then,  the  teacher  should  regularly  read 

to  his  pupils  passages  of  prose  and  verse  selected  on  the 

grounds  both  of  beauty  of  f  oiin  and  of  nobility  of  idea. 

3.  But   such   indirect   intercourse   with   books  is   only 

auxiliary  to  the  direct  intercoui'se  through 

''■^^^^j^^"^  reading.  This  will  not  be  made  real  and 
of  Reading.  . »  .      .      i  .  ■    -,      ^ 

effective    unless   it  is   borne  in  mmd  that 

reading  is  essentially  a  mental  act.  It  is  the  suggestion  of 
ideas  by  visible  symbols.  Reading  aloud  is  an  addition  to 
this  process  and  by  no  means  essential  to  it,  just  in  the  same 
way  that  the  recognition  of  a  cat  or  other  object  may  be 
perfect  without  the  utterance  of  its  name.  The  con- 
fusion of  these  two  quite  distinct  processes  is  one  of  the 
most  common  faults  of  the  school.  As  the  power  of 
reading  is  usually  tested  in  examinations  by  reading  aloud, 
so  the  whole  eft'ort  of  the  teacher  is  too  often  apphed  to 
securing  this  power.  But  it  is  matter  of  common  experi- 
ence that  such  '  reading '  may  be  a  mere  mechanical  series 
of  utterances  without  any  undercuiTent  of  ideas.  Some 
centuries  ago  boys  were  taught  to  'read'  Latin  words 
aloud,  that  is,  to  utter  certain  sounds  on  the  sight  of  cer- 
tain combinations  of  letters  without  having  any  idea  of 
what  the  words  meant.  Much  reading  aloud  of  English 
in  schools  is  little  better.  The  true  proof  that  a  child  can 
read  is,  not  that  he  can  utter  sounds  in  response  to  visible 
symbols,  but  that  he  can  give  an  intelligent  account  of  the 
matter  he  has  read. 

Reading  and  elocution,  then,  are  two  different  things, 

which  may  be,  but  are  not  necessarily,  con- 
Reading  Aloud,  nected.      And  of   these   the  former   is   the 

more  important.  The  aim  of  the  teacher  of 
reading  should  be,  then,  to  give  the  pupils  the  power  to 
master  books  by  themselves.  To  this,  reading  aloud  should 
be  auxiliary.     In  the  lower  classes,  at  any  rate,  the  chief 


EEADINQ.  123 

object  of  practising  children  in  reading  aloud  is  to  aid 
them  in  attaining  the  power  to  read  to  themselves.  The 
child  reads  aloud  in  order  that  the  teacher  may  know  how 
the  process  is  going  on,  and  so  assist  in  perfecting  it.  The 
essence  of  reading  is  that  the  visible  symbols  are  recognised 
easily  and  accurately,  and  that  they  are  grouped  properly. 
When  the  child  represents  the  printed  symbols  by  equi- 
valent spoken  symbols  the  teacher  can  discover  what 
mistakes  he  makes  and  what  difficulties  he  encounters, 
and  so  help  him  to  overcome  them. 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  hearing  the  words  as  well 
as  seeing  them  is  a  help  to  the  beginner  in  raising  the 
ideas  they  represent.  The  child's  tendency  is  to  make  only 
the  association  between  visible  symbol  and  spoken  soimd, 
and  to  omit  the  association  between  either  or  both  of  these 
and  thought.  So  that  the  teacher  has  constantly  to  induce 
the  children  to  talk  about  what  they  have  read  to  ensure 
that  their  '  reading '  is  a  real  mental  act.  Until  the  initial 
diflBculties  of  recognising  printed  symbols  and  grouping 
them  are  overcome  there  must  be  a  good  deal  of  reading 
aloud.  But  it  should  never  exclude  silent  reading,  and 
both  should  always  be  tested  by  requiring  a  reproduction 
of  the  matter  read.  Inability  to  give  such  a  reproduction 
IS  a  proof  that  there  has  been  no  real  reading,  no  matter 
how  fluent  the  mechanical  utterance  may  have  been. 

4.  When  the  mechanical  difficulties  of  reading  are  over- 
come, reading  aloud  stiU  holds  its  place  as 
EfocutioiL^  an  exercise  in  elocution.  Before  this  stage 
is  reached  all  elocution  exercises  are  of  speech, 
such  as  the  repetition  of  passages  learnt  by  heart.  It  is  true 
that  the  power  of  really  fine  elocution  is  no  more  universal 
than  is  the  power  of  really  fine  singing.  But  some  amount  of 
elocutionary  skill  may  be  reached  by  aU  whose  vocal  organs 
are  not  fundamentally  defective.     All  can  be  taught  to 


124  THE    TEACHING    OP    ENGLISH  : 

read  aloud  so  as  to  convey  the  meaning  of  the  author  in  a 
way  not  unpleasant  to  the  hearer.  And  passages  which 
are  specially  beautiful  in  form  only  impress  the  mind 
with  their  full  force  when  they  are  heard.  The  pupils 
should,  therefore,  be  encouraged  and  trained  to  read  aloud 
poetry  and  rhetorical  prose,  even  when  they  are  reading 
privately  for  their  own  enjoyment. 

Grood  renderings  can  obviously  only  be  given  of  passages 
whose  meaning  has  been  mastered.  We  do  not  expect 
even  an  expert  musician  to  express  the  soul  of  a  work 
which  he  has  not  studied  through  and  through.  Yet 
children  are  too  often  called  upon  to  read  aloud  with 
true  feeling  and  expression  passages  they  have  never  seen 
before.  No  doubt  a  good  reader — that  is,  one  really 
familiar  with  books — will  do  some  justice  to  such  a 
passage,  just  as  the  musician  will  in  his  rendering  of 
an  unseen  piece.  But  the  true  test  of  the  power  of  the 
one  as  of  the  other  is  not  what  he  makes  of  the  thing  at 
sight,  but  what  he  can  find  in  it  and  get  out  of  it  after 
careful  study. 

Elocvxtion  in  reading  is,  then,  a  different  thing  with  a 
different  function  from  what  is  commonly  known  as  '  reading 
aloud.'  The  latter  indirectly  aids  the  child  in  learning  to 
read  by  making  the  teacher's  help  more  available;  the 
former  is  only  possil)le  when  the  child  can  already  read, 
and  read  well  relatively  to  the  piece  to  be  rendered.  Yet 
elocutionary  reading  should  be  the  outcome  of  reading 
aloud,  and  will  be  so  if  only  the  reading  aloud  is  kept  in 
continual  touch  with  real  reading,  and  is  never  allowed  to 
io-nore  the  connection  of  words  with  thoughts. 

The    highest    qualities    of    elocution,  indeed,  will    not 

be    developed    in    the    school.      But    intelligibility    and 

.pleasantness  of  delivery  may  l>e  secured.     These  depend 

upon  clear  and  distinct  articulation,  correct  pronunciation, 


KEADINO.  125 

fluent  but  uot  over  rapid  utterance  as  more  mechanical 
qualities ;  and  upon  correct  phrasing,  emphasis,  and  modu- 
lation as  more  intellectual  and  emotional  qualities.  The 
former  characteristics  may  be  developed,  and  not  infre- 
quently are  developed,  in  a  mechanical  manner,  and  the  re- 
sult is  the  soulless  '  reading  '  with  which  we  are  all  famiUar. 
The  latter  can  only  come  truly  out  of  an  appreciation  of  the 
spirit  and  meaning  of  the  passage,  and  every  attempt  to 
produce  them  otherwise — as  by  direct  imitation  of  the 
teacher's  rendering — leads  to  an  artificiality  that  is  posi- 
tively painful  to  the  hearer  and  educationally  deadening 
to  the  reader.  It  is  obvious  that  the  training  of  such 
habits  of  mechanical  utterance  is  even  worse  than  a  waste 
of  time ;  it  is  a  misuse  of  it.  As  Professor  Dowden  says  : 
"  The  reading  which  we  should  try  to  cultivate  is  intelli- 
gent reading,  that  is,  it  should  express  the  meaning  of  each 
passage  clearly ;  sympathetic  reading,  that  is,  it  should 
convey  the  feeling  delicately ;  musical  reading,  that  is,  it 
should  move  in  accord  with  the  melody  and  harmony  of 
what  is  read,  be  it  prose  or  verse."' 

5.  These,   then,  being   oui*  aims,  we  have  to  consider 

briefly  how  reading  lessons  may  be  conducted 

Principles  of      profitably.     We  lay  down  no  hard  and  fast 

Method  in  rules,  for  mechanical  adherence  to  one   set 

Teacnmg  _  ,      .         .      . 

Reading.  form  of  lesson  is  deadening  m  its  monotony 

both  to  teacher  and  to  taught.     But  a  few 
general  principles  may  be  stated. 

With  children  who  have  not  yet  mastered  the  art  of  read- 
ing, most  of  the  time  given  to  that  subject  will 
CMlS'el''"''^^'^  be  spent  in  reading  aloud.     What  is  wanted 
is  plenty  of   practice,   and  it  is,  therefore, 
obvious  that  the  smaller  the  class  the  better.     When  the 
teacher  has  a  large  class  it  is  well  to  take  the  childi-en  in 
'  Essay  oil  The  Teachiicj  of  EiKjlinh  Literature. 


126  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

small  groups  for  oral  reading,  while  the  rest  of  the  class 
does  some  form  of  work  on  paper  or  engages  in  silent  reading. 
The  attempt  to  increase  the  amount  of  practice  by  calling 
on  a  class  to  read  simultaneously  is  not  to  be  commended. 
Such  exercises  tend  to  monotony  of  utterance  and  expression ; 
moreover,  individual  faults  are  eifectually  covered  up,  and 
so  the  child  goes  on  forming  bad  habits  of  speech. 

The  lesson  may  well  begin  with  some  vocal  drill  on  one 

or  two  of  the  errors  in  utterance  to  which  the 

children  are  most  prone — of  which  the  teacher 
should,  of  course,  have  made  a  list — selected  in  view  of  the 
actual  difficulties  likely  to  occur  in  this  piece.  The  general 
mode  of  dealing  with  this  is  not  different  from  that  out- 
lined in  speaking  of  infant  school  work.  ^ 

After  this  drill  the  childi'en  should  usually  read  a  passage 

to  themselves,  if  they  have  not  already  done 

so,  to  make  out  its  general  drift,  and  their 
success  can  be  tested  by  one  or  two  pointed  questions. 
If  they  are  unused  to  this  exercise  a  question  may  be 
proposed  to  them  before  they  read,  so  that  in  the  reading 
their  attention  may  be  directed  to  finding  the  answer. 
When  the  general  meaning  has  been  found  individual 

reading    should    follow.     This    the  teacher 
"  should  not  interrupt  by  corrections,  but  he 
should  note  errors  and  deal  with  them  at  the  end.     To  in- 
terrupt the  reading  is  to  take  the  children's  attention  off 
the  meaning  and  concentrate  it  on  the  mere  utterance. 
Of  errors  made  there  are  two  main  kinds,  those  due  to 

failure  to  understand  the  passage  and  those 
Mistakes^  due  to  other  causes,  such  as  mere  faults  in 

pronunciation,  or  the  kind  of  verbal  slip  that 
we  all  make  at  times  and  which  makes  no  difference  to  the 
sense.     The  former  can  only  be  effectively  dealt  with  by 
1  See  pp.  109-11. 


READING.  127 

leading  the  child  who  made  the  error  to  see  the  true  sense 
of  the  passage,  which  he  should  then  be  set  to  read  again. 
Often  this  will  develop  into  a  general  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  class  to  find  the  ti'ue  mode  of  expression. 

Mistakes  of  pronunciation  are  met  by  telling  the  child 
the  true  pronunciation,  or  asking  if  any  other  child 
knows  it.  The  latter  plan  has  the  advantage  of  showing 
the  teacher  whether  it  is  desirable  to  give  the  whole  class 
practice  in  saying  that  word,  or  whether  only  one  pupil 
needs  be  cured.  But  to  have  the  whole  class  on  the  pounce 
to  find  mistakes  is  bad  in  every  way.  It  is  true  it  may 
make  the  children  '  attentive,'  but  it  makes  them  attentive 
to  the  wrong  thing — to  the  shortcomings  of  others  instead 
of  to  the  meaning  of  the  passage  read,  and  consequently 
inattentive  to  the  meaning  of  what  they  are  reading. 

Mere  slips,  when  quite  unimportant  and  infrequent,  may 
be  ignored.  When  less  unimportant  the  teacher  may  draw 
the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  mistake.  But  Avhen 
slips  become  frequent  on  the  part  of  any  pupil  they  indicate 
the  formation  of  a  slipshod  habit  of  mind  which  is  not 
careful  to  seize  the  exact  thought  of  the  passage  read.  In 
this  case  the  mistakes  should  be  treated  as  faults  of 
carelessness ;  the  child  should  be  reproved  and  the  passage 
read  again  in  his  leisure  time. 

The  teacher  is  aiming  at  having  the  passage  understood, 
and  at  training  the  children  to  express  by 
Exore^sioif  ^^®  voice  what  they  understand.  And  no 
one  who  has  heard  children  talk  to  each 
other  can  doubt  that  they  have  the  power  of  expressing 
what  they  feel  and  think.  The  reason  their  reading 
is  often  so  expressionless  and  wooden  is  because  they  do 
not  feel  or  care  for  the  matter,  either  because  it  is  of  the 
wrong  kind,  or  because  their  attention  is  so  fixed  on 
connecting  utterance  ynth.  visible  symbols  that  they  never 


128  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

think  of  it  at  all.  The  remedy  for  the  former  is  obvious, 
and  there  is  now-a-days  no  excuse  for  unsuitable  books 
being  used  in  school.  The  remedy  for  the  latter  is  also 
obvious.  Lead  the  children  by  conversation  to  enter  into 
the  piece  and  they  can  express  it  well  enough. 

In  no  case  is  the  true  remedy  for  the  teacher  to  give  a 
pattern-reading  of  the  piece  and  then  call  upon  the  child — 
or  even  the  class  simultaneously — to  imitate  that  rendering. 
This  practice  has  done  much  to  produce  the  dreary  artificial 
oral '  reading '  of  which  we  find  so  many  examples  in  schools. 
That  the  teacher  should  read  regularly  to  the  children  has 
been  already  insisted  upon,  and  this  should  set  a  model  of 
good  reading  before  them.  But  the  influence  of  that  model 
will  be  general,  not  a  special  and  mechanical  copying. 

The  teacher's  work,  then,  is  to  help  the  children  first  to 
understand  and  feel  what  they  are  reading,  and  then  to 
overcome  the  physical  and  mechanical  difficulties  of  vocal 
expression.  This  requires  insight  and  tact.  For  while 
the  teacher  should  be  on  his  guard  against  doing  too  much 
for  his  pupils,  he  must  yet  bear  in  mind  that  his  share  is 
important  though  unobtrusive.  He  must  remember  that 
merely  to  hear  reading  is  not  to  teach  reading. 

As  the  pupils  master  the  art  of  reading 
ii.  With  Elder   more  perfectly,  a  larger  proportion  of  their 

reading  should  be  silent,  and,  as  was  pointed 
out  in  an  earlier  chapter,  much  of  the  learning  which  is 
now  done  through  oral  lessons  should  be  done  by  means 
of  reading.^  The  number  of  oral  reading  lessons  will, 
therefore,  gradually  decrease,  though  the  total  amount  of 
time  given  to  reading  should  increase. 

As   the  habit  of   clear  and  distinct  utterance  becomes 
more  firmly  fixed  the  oral  reading  lessons  will  deal  more 
and  more  with  matters  of  expression,  less  and  less  with 
1  -S'ee  pp.  82-3. 


READING.  129 

matters  of  articulation.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  good  expressive  reading  is  impossible  unless  the 
mechanical  qualities  of  clear  and  distinct  utterance  have 
been  secured.  It  is  only  when  these  have  become  automatic 
that  the  mind  can  use  them  as  facile  instruments  in  the 
expression  of  thought  and  feeling.  Hence,  the  need  for 
drill  in  the  mechanical  factors  of  elocvition  will  not 
cease,  thoiigh  it  becomes  less  and  less  in  amoiuit. 

The  most  essential  point  to  secure  is  correct  phrasing. 
No  mechanical  rules,  such  as  determining 
pauses  by  punctuation  marks  should  be 
given.  The  true  function  of  punctuation  marks  is  to 
make  the  construction  clearer,  and  attention  should  be 
fixed  not  on  them  but  on  the  meaning.  Every  separate 
'  picture  element '  or  '  idea  element '  presented  by  the 
passage  should  be  marked  by  a  pause  whether  there  are 
stops  or  not,  and  that  pause  should  be  of  greater  or  less 
duration  according  to  the  degree  of  closeness  of  connection 
between  the  elements.     As,  for  example, 

' '  On  one  side  |  lay  the  Ocean,  ||  and  on  one  | 
Lay  a  great  water,  ||  and  the  moon  |  was  full." 

where  a  pause  should  be  made  at  each  vertical  line. 
Thus,  correct  phrasing  is  the  expression  of  a  clear  under- 
standing of  the  elements  which  together  compose  the  whole 
which  the  mind  of  the  hearer  has  to  construct. 

Next  to  phrasing  comes  emphasis,    and  this  evidently 

depends  on  apprehension  of  meaniner.  By- 
Emphasis.  •  -1  1  XT  •  1 

varymg  the  emphasis  the  meaning  can  be 
varied.  For  example,  "  And  he  said  to  his  sons,  '  Saddle 
me  the  ass,'  and  they  saddled  him ; "  if  read  with  the 
emphasis  on  the  last  word  suggests  a  meaning  quite 
different  from  that  given  when  the  stress  is  laid  on 
"  saddled." 

PR.  TO.  9 


130  •  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

111  addition  to  stress  on  particular  words,  emphasis  is 
given  to  phrases  or  clauses  by  variation  in  the  rate  of 
reading.  A  passage  read  more  slowly  than  the  rest  and 
with  stress  on  each  word  stands  out  most  prominently,  even 
though  it  be  read  softly.  Such  emphasis  is  the  outcome 
not  only  of  intellectual  grasp  of  meaning,  but  of  a  feeling 
of  the  relative  values  of  the  various  constituent  parts  of 
the  whole  passage. 

Modulation  of  voice  is  positively  offensive  when  it  is  not 

the  natural  expression  of  the  felt  meaning 
Modulation.  j  p  j,  ,-,  -r,    .  ,.  -,, 

and  lorce  or  the  passage,     it  is  essentially  a 

largely  vmconscious  variation  of  pitch  due  to  the  emotional 

influence   of   the   ideas   expressed.     Thus,   passages   vary 

enormously    in    the    amount    and    kind    of    modulation 

appropriate  to  them.     A  mere  statement  of  bald  fact,  such 

as   '  London   is   the  largest   city  in  the  world,'   requires 

scarcely  any  modulation.     Such  statements  of  fact  should 

be  read,  as  an  intelligent  person  would  state  them,  in  a 

plain,  matter  of  fact  way.     But  when  the  passage  expresses 

some  strong  emotion,  as 

"Ah,  miserable  and  unkind,  untrue, 
Unkniglitly,  traitor-hearted  !     Woe  is  me  ! 
Authority  forgets  a  dying  king, 
Laid  widow'd  of  the  power  in  his  eye 
That  bow'd  the  will.     I  see  thee  what  thou  art, 
For  thou,  the  latest-left  of  all  my  knights 
In  whom  should  meet  the  offices  of  all. 
Thou  wouldst  betray  me  for  the  precious  hilt ; 
Either  from  lust  of  gold,  or  like  a  girl 
Valuing  the  giddy  pleasure  of  the  eyes." 

its  effective  rendering  requires  much  both  of  emphasis 
and  of  modulation.  But  the  only  true  source  of  such 
effective  rendering  is  that  the  reader  enters  into  the 
emotion  expressed,  identifies  himself  with  it,  and  so  gives 
utterance  to   it  as   the  expi'ession  of  his   own   Ufe.     To 


READING.  131 

help  bim  in  every  way  possi])le  to  do  this  is  the  teacher's 
function. 

Closely  allied  with  modulation  is  difference  in  quality  of 
tone  which  gives  to  poetry  or  prose  its  musical  character. 
This  is  due  to  the  values  given  to  the  constituent  parts  of 
the  words— the  length,  openness,  and  sonority  of  the 
vowels,  and  the  greater  or  less  force  of  the  consonants. 

Thus,  whichever  way  we  look  at  it,  we  see  that  good 
reading  aloud  has  its  root  in  an  established  relation  Ijetween 
the  mind  of  the  reader  and  that  of  the  writer  of  the  passage 
read.  This  relation  acts  on  a  certain  mechanism  of 
musical  voice  production,  and  renders  it  intelligent,  sym- 
pathetic, and  in  harmony  with  the  thought  and  feeling 
of  the  passage. 

These  qualities  are  necessary  to  all  effective  reading 
aloud.  But  when  the  reading  attempts  to 
Poetry.^  °  render  poetry  it  requires  yet  other  excellen- 
cies, or  rather  special  forms  of  the  excellencies 
already  considered.  For  the  distinction  between  poetry 
and  prose  is  a  very  real  one,  and  to  obscure  it  in  the  render- 
ing is  to  fail  in  the  first  requisite  of  good  reading.  In  an 
article  on  Rhythm  and  Rhyme,  Mr.  Gr.  Bourne  admirably 
brings  out  the  special  points  to  which  the  reader  of  poetry 
should  have  regard.  We  will  venture  to  give  them  in  his 
own  words  : 

"  It  is  the  function — it  is  the  characteristic  feature — 
of  verse,  to  utilise  in  words  a  quality  of  resonance  which 
they  all  have ;  a  vibrant  force  of  sound  scarce  audible  in 
them  singly,  but  of  wonderful  power  when  they  are  made 
to  pulsate  together.  In  prose  words  are  at  best  but  muted 
strings  ;  in  poetry  they  ring  out  full-toned,  and  the  reader's 
spirit  is  made  more  sensitive  to  each  word's  meaning.  As 
the  production  of  this  tone  is  the  making  of  poetry,  so  the 
hearing  of  it  is  what  constitutes  the  reading  of  poetry.  .  .  . 


132  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

It  is  always  true  that  there  is  no  poetry  for  those  who  do 
not  hear  the  sound  of  lines  ;  and  in  order  to  hear  lines,  it  is 
necessary  to  value  the  sound,  and  especially  the  duration  of 
the  sound  of  single  syllables.  .  .  .  The  cessation  of  a 
poet's  line  is  almost  as  important  as  the  progress  of  it.  It 
conies  in  its  due  place  by  a  natural  law,  which  is  no  wanton 
convention,  but  which  it  is  wantonness  to  ignore.  An.d  the 
same  holds  good  with  stanzas  also  ;  the  strong  beat  set  up 
by  the  grouping  demands  an  equally  marked  cessation  of 
sound  at  the  appointed  moment.  One  would  say  that  the 
poet  must  create  a  silence  in  which  he  can  be  heard  ;  but 
what  is  most  strange  is  that  the  silence  itself  may  become  a 
valuable  aid  to  the  poet  in  emphasising  his  meaning.  Of 
course,  not  every  poem  uses  this  effect.  .  .  .  The  point 
is  that  poetry  may  do  this  thing  with  a  certainty  most 
enviable  by  the  prose  writer,  who  can  but  dot  in  his  pitiful 
row  of  asterisks  and  hope  that  the  reader  will  check  at 
them."i 

In  addition  to  the  marking  of  the  rhythmic  structure 
of  verse  by  phrasing  and  modulation  and  stress,  the 
function  of  rhyme  must  not  be  neglected.  "  The  clock 
ticks  regularly  through  its  hour  and  then  strikes ;  the 
poem  tells  out  its  even  syllables,  and  their  periods  are 
chimed  out  in  rhymes.  First  and  last  that  is  rhyme's  chief 
function,  to  emphasise  and  regulate  the  rhythmical  time. 
.  .  .  But  the  great  masters  of  words  often  adapt  it  to  a 
further  use.  The  two  rhymed  words  in  a  stanza  are  above 
all  the  others  conspicuous.  If  therefore  the  poet  can  also 
concentrate  his  meaning  upon  those  same  words,  the  light 
of  it  will  be  diffused  the  farther,  the  rhymes  being  then 
like  beacon-fires  answering  one  another  across  the  whole 
verse."-     Alliteration    must  also    be  manifested   when  it 

1  Macmillan'' s  Magazine,  May  1906,  pp.  541-5. 
-  Ibid.,  p.  5-47. 


&BADINO.  133 

is  present  by  empliasis  in  the  reading.  "  Wlien  the  poet 
leads  off  the  weightier  syllables  of  his  verse  all  with  the 
same  letter,  it  causes  each  to  ring  as  with  a  hammer- 
stroke  ;  and  while  we  like  the  repeating  letter,  we  like 
still  more  its  eifect  on  the  syllables,  of  marking  their  equal 
importance  and  increasing  the  volmne  of  their  sound.  It 
is  their  statelier  rhythm  that  most  truly  affects  us."^ 

In  short,  poetry  can  only  be  effectively  read  aloud  by  one 
who  feels  not  the  meaning  only  but  the  form,  who  vmder- 
stands  the  structure  of  that  form  and  whose  soul  vibrates 
to  its  music  and  through  it  feels  the  thought  to  be  nobler, 
more  dignified  or  more  graceful.  In  poetry,  indeed, 
thought  and  form  of  expression  are  indissolubly  united, 
and  neither  can  be  fully  appreciated  apart  from  the 
other.  That  is  why  we  never  feel  to  the  full  the  spirit 
of  poetry  unless  we  either  read  it  aloud  ourselves  or 
hear  another  read  it. 

It  is  evident  that  each  pupil  must  read  a  considerable 
passage  at  once  if  the  art  of  effective  oral 
Practice.  reading    is    to    be    acquired.      When   each 

pupil  reads  only  a  sentence  or  two,  except 
in  dramatic  writings  where  each  takes  one  character, 
there  is  little  opportunity  for  him  to  express  the  emotional 
value  of  the  passage,  Avhich  is,  indeed,  lost  by  being 
torn  into  fragments.  It  is  more  valuable  for  a  pupil  to 
read  a  considerable  passage  once  or  twice  a  week  than  to 
read  two  or  three  sentences  daily.  The  advisability  of 
frequent  oral  reading  in  small  groups  remains,  though  in  a 
less  pressing  form  than  in  the  lower  classes. 

The  common  custom  of  giving  each  pupil  in  a  class 
a  book  containing  what  is  being  read,  and  requiring  him 
to  follow  it,  is  necessary  whilst  the  art  of  reading  is  being 

^Mucinillan''s  Muyadne,  May  1906,  p.  549. 


134  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

acquired.       But    as    proficieucy   is    attained    this    should 

gradually   be  discoutiuued,    and   each    reader    should  be 

expected  to  make  himself  intelligible  to  a  class 

Reading  to        which  merely  listens  to  him.     Not  only  does 

Hearers   with-      ,.        ,.  ,  _...  . 

out  Books.         ^^^s  cultivate  clearness  and  distmctness  in  the 

I'eaders,  but  it  trains  the  other  pupils  in  con- 
tinuity of  attention,  and  directs  that  attention  to  the  right 
point,  that  is,  to  the  meaning.  Another  advantage  is  the 
much  greater  variety  of  reading  that  can  be  secured,  as 
only  one  copy  of  the  book  read  is  required.  If,  further, 
pupils  are  encouraged  to  prepare  at  home  pieces  they 
like  and  bring  them  to  school  to  read  to  their  fellows, 
interest  in  reading  is  markedly  cultivated.  Of  course, 
the  teacher's  approval  of  every  such  piece  should  be 
obtained  beforehand. 

In  this  way,  the  reading  lessons  are  made  really  effective 

and  valuable.  It  can  be  pertinently  urged 
Matter  suited  against  the  reading  lesson  as  commonly  con- 
Aloud,  ducted     that     it    positively     hinders     that 

continuity  of  attention  which  it  should  be 
one  of  the  chief  aims  of  school  work  to  develop.  Such  a 
charge  cannot  be  brought  against  the  method  here  outlined. 
But  even  so,  reading  aloud  in  the  upper  classes  should  be 
chiefly  exercised  on  matter  which  appeals  more  strongly  to 
the  emotions  and  to  the  sense  of  rhythm,  harmony,  and 
beauty  than  to  the  intelligence  or  to  the  memory.  Of 
course,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  poetry  should  always 
be  read  aloud.  Silent  reading,  in  which  each  pupil  can  go 
at  his  own  rate,  can  return  on  himself,  can  compare 
passage  with  passage,  can  pause  to  reflect  or  to  make  siu'e 
he  has  grasped  the  meaning,  can  refer  to  dictionaries  and 
other  books  to  clear  up  difficulties,  is  the  appropriate  means 
of  bringing  his  mind  into  relation  with  statements  of  fact 
and   trains   of   reasoning.      The   general    lines  on  which 


EBADINO.  135 

children  may  be  trained  to  learn  effectively  from  books 
have  been  already  indicated.^ 

6.  The  best  methods  of  conducting  reading  lessons,  how- 
ever, must  fail  in  their  true  object  of  leading 
Reading  Books,  the  young  to  enjoy  good  literature  unless  the 
school  reading  books  are  wisely  selected. 
Till  quite  recent  years  this  was  a  matter  of  supreme  diffi- 
culty, but  now  the  teacher  has  a  choice  of  quite  a  large 
number  of  really  good  reading  books,  though  the  number 
of  bad  ones  is  probably  yet  greater.  The  qualities  to  be 
demanded  in  a  school  reading  book  are  that  it  should  be 
capable  of  exciting  the  pupils'  interest,  that  it  should  en- 
large and  ennoble  their  ideas,  that  it  should  be  well  wi'itten, 
that  its  vocabulary  should  be  in  relation  to  that  used  by 
its  readers,  though  moi'e  extensive,  and  that  its  style 
should  be  simple  but  not  artificially  childish.  It  should 
be  well  and  clearly  printed  on  good  paper,  and  if  there  are 
any  illustrations  they  should  be  artistic  and  well  executed. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  school  reading  books  now-a- 
days  are  often  much  too  copiously  illustrated.  An  illustra- 
tion should  supplement,  not  supplant,  the  imagination  and 
fancy  of  the  children.  For  instance,  pictures  showing  how 
Romans  and  Tuscans  wer'e  armed,  and  perhaps  even 
the  kind  of  bridge  which  Horatius  and  his  companions 
defended,  would  help  pupils  to  picture  the  incidents  in 
Macaulay's  lay  Horatius.  But  pictm-es  of  the  various 
episodes  described  in  that  lay  are  quite  undesirable,  for 
they  hinder  the  attempts  of  the  children  to  picture  the 
scenes  vividly  for  themselves ;  indeed,  they  often  prevent 
such  attempts  from  being  made.  Pictorial  illustrations 
which  promote  mental  activity  are  good ;  those  which 
make  it  needless  are  educationally  bad,  whatever  artistic 
merit  they  may  display. 

'  iSee  pp.  83-4. 


136  THE    TEACHING    OF   ENGLISH  : 

Reading  books  sliould  contain  passages  of  good  verse 
dealing  with  topics  which  interest  children  of  the  age  for 
which  the  books  are  intended,  and  expressing  towards 
those  topics  attitudes  of  mind  into  which  the  children  can 
enter,  and  which  it  is  good  for  them  to  experience. 
Poetry,  however  simple  in  expression,  which  appeals  to 
complex  emotions  and  to  subjective  introspection  is  quite 
out  of  place  in  a  child's  reading  book.  A  healthy  external 
outlook  on  life  and  nature  is  the  spirit  we  should  try  to 
cultivate. 

If  the  term  '  reading  book '  be  confined  to  those  books 
which  are  used  mainly  for  oral  reading,  then  we  see  that 
the  contents  should  be  of  value  as  literature  rather  than 
as  information.  The  attempt  to  combine  the  two,  like 
most  endeavours  to  kill  two  birds  with  one  stone,  usually 
hinders  the  attainment  of  the  result  which  should  be 
sought  from  each.  The  chief  exception  is  the  history 
reader,  which,  if  well  chosen,  is  at  once  literature  and  the 
medium  of  conveying  definite  information. 

The  book  i-ead  primarily  for  the  instruction  it  conveys 
should,  as  a  rule,  be  read  silently  for  the  information  it 
contains  ;  oral  reading  should  stir  feeling  and  emotion, 
stimulate  taste,  and  inspire  ideals  ;  any  addition  to  know- 
ledge it  makes  is  incidental  and  unessential.  Thvis,  in  the 
books  for  the  younger  children,  fairy  tales  and  other  forms 
of  folk  lore  have  their  place;  for  those  of  older  growth 
stories,  both  from  history  and  from  fiction,  should  form 
the  staple;  whilst  for  the  oldest  classes  of  all  the  finer 
types  of  literature,  such  as  essays  from  Bacon,  Steele, 
and  Addison,  and  descriptive  passages  from  Ruskin, 
should  find  a  place.  Indeed,  in  the  reading  books  for  the 
highest  classes  examples  should  be  found  culled  from  all 
the  great  literatures  of  the  world,  so  that  the  pupils  may 
to  some  extent  appreciate  the  extent  and  variety  of  the 


READING.  137 

world's  spiritual  treasures.  As  Professor  Dowden  says, 
"  To  know  that  there  is  a  literature  of  the  world,  and  to 
have  felt,  even  for  a  moment,  something  of  its  seriousness, 
its  beauty,  its  generous  passion,  its  pathos,  its  humour,  is 
to  lay  a  good  foundation."^ 

The  school  reading  book  will,  then,  be  a  book  of  well 
chosen  extracts  in  prose  and  verse,  each  of  real  literary 
merit,  and  each  likely  to  awaken  an  echo  in  the  hearts  of 
some  at  least  of  the  children  for  whose  use  it  is  intended. 
But  by  the  side  of  such  a  book  is  the  need  for  a  more 
continuous  reader,  in  order  to  train  in  the  pupils  the 
power  and  habit  of  continuity  of  interest.  This  reader 
may  be  an  edition  of  some  standard  novel  or  some  long 
poem,  either  complete  or  abridged. 

To  reading  a  complete  novel  orally  in  class  there  are 
the  objections  that  the  progress  is  so  slow  that  interest 
flags,  and  that  many  of  the  pupils  read  the  latter  parts 
of  the  book  to  themselves  before  those  parts  are  reached 
in  the  class  reading,  and  that  this  destroys  the  interest 
for  them.  The  latter  objection  has  little  force,  for  most 
children  read  their  favoixrite  books  over  and  over  again. 
But  the  former  is  really  serious.  This  objection  may  be 
met  either  by  having  much  of  the  novel  read  silently  and 
quickly  and  only  the  more  dramatic  scenes  or  beautiful 
passages  read  orally  in  class,  or  by  using  a  set  of  extracts 
from  it,  which  if  well  selected  are  likely  to  send  many  of  the 
pupils  to  the  school  or  town  library  to  borrow  the  book. 
Another  plan  is  to  have  a  reading  book  of  long  extracts 
from  various  books,  each  of  which  leaves  off  at  a  stimu- 
lating point,  to  let  the  children  note  do^vll  the  author's 
name  and  the  title  of  the  book  from  which  each  extract 
is  taken,  and  to  encourage  them  to  borrow  these  books 

'  Introduction  to  The  Temple  Reader,  j).  xvi. 


138  THE    TBACHINa    OF    ENGLISH  :     READINQ. 

from  any  available  library  and  read  them.  Each  of  these 
plans  has  been  successful,  though  it  is  obvious  that  the 
success  of  the  last  two  depends  on  the  accessibility  of  a 
library.  ^ 

This  leads  us  to  insist  that  school  and  class  libraries 

should  be  regarded  as  essential  parts  of  a 
School  and  well  fitted  school.  We  do  not  merely  mean 
^\f'^^  .  collections  of  books  which  can  be  lent  to  the 

pupils  to  read  at  home,  though  they,  too,  are 
needful,  but  books  that  children  can  use  in  school,  some- 
times reading  under  the  teacher's  general  direction,  at 
others  allowed  to  browse  at  will  on  those  pastures  which 
most  attract  them.  Time  for  this  could  be  found  if  only 
teachers  and  others  who  direct  the  educational  occupations 
of  children  were  less  enamoured  of  "  that  asinine  feast  of 
sowthistles  and  brambles  which  is  commonly  set  before 
them,  as  all  the  food  and  entertainment  of  their  tenderest 
and  most  docible  age."'^ 

^  Attention  may  be  drawn  to  the  excellent  and  cheap  series  of 
short  but  complete  classics  published  by  Messrs.  Blackie  and  Son 
under  the  general  title  English  School  Texts.  Tlicse  form  admirable 
reading  books  for  the  upper  classes. 

2  Miltou,  Tractate  on  Education. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  :     LITERATURE. 

1.  By  means  of  well  selected  reading  books,  the  use  of 

a  well  stocked  library,  aud  the  encourage- 
Learning  by  ment  of  pupils  to  briug  other  books  to  school 
Recitation.         *^  ^'®^*^  ^^^'  ^^®  benefit  of  their  class-mates,  a 

considerable  amount  of  literary  ground  can 
be  covered,  and  a  hope  may  reasonably  be  entertained  that 
each  pupil  will  have  found  something  to  appeal  to  him  and 
to  develop  in  him  a  liking  for  things  and  thoughts  outside 
"  the  trivial  round,  the  common  task  "  of  his  everyday  life. 
But  in  the  cultivation  of  literary  taste  it  is  as  needful  to 
add  intensive  to  extensive  study  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  a 
training  in  music. 

With  the  younger  classes  this  intensive  study  will  be 

confined  to  the  learning  by  heart  and  recita- 
Passages.  *^°^   °^   passages  of  poetry    or   prose,  and 

throughout  the  school  course  this  should  be 
a  regular  exercise.  Each  passage  should  be  complete  in 
itself,  and  should  appeal  in  its  sentiment  and  general  tone 
to  the  children's  hearts.  If  that  is  secured  it  is  little  draw- 
back if  it  contains  expressions  and  allusions  of  which  the 

139 


140  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

children  have  only  an  imperfect  intellectual  grasp.  After 
all,  comprehension  and  appreciation  are  relative  terms.  No 
two  minds  see  exactly  the  same  beauties  in  any  work  of 
art  or  piece  of  nature,  and  no  two  minds  have  exactly  the 
same  grasp  of  the  thought  expressed  by  another.  A  child 
can  only  appreciate  to  the  fullest  extent  of  his  powers.  He 
may  feel  his  heart  stirred  within  him  by  ideas  and  thoughts 
of  which  his  comprehension  is  less  than  is  that  of  his 
teacher.  Indeed,  it  may  be  held  that  much  of  the  litera- 
ture taught  in  school  should  be  somewhat  in  advance  of  the 
present  capacity  of  the  children,  so  that  it  may  not  soon  be 
'  put  away '  with  other  '  childish  things.'  A  really  fine 
piece  of  poetry,  no  matter  how  simple  its  expression,  en- 
shrines in  a  beautiful  setting  a  gem  of  noble  thought 
which  will  flash  in  ever  new  coloiirs  and  fresh  tints  as 
time  mellows  the  light  of  our  experience. 

The  qualities  which  poetry  worthy  to  be  learnt  by  heart 
should  possess  were  admirably  summed  up  by  Matthew 
Arnold  in  one  of  his  School  Eepoi-ts :  "  l.^hat  the  poetry 
chosen  should  have  real  beauties  of  expression  and  feeling, 
that  those  beauties  should  be  such  as  the  childi-en's  hearts 
and  minds  can  lay  hold  of,  and  that  a  distinct  point  or 
centre  of  beauty  and  interest  should  occur  within  the 
limits  of  the  passage  learnt — all  these  ure  conditions  to  be 
insisted  upon." 

Of  course,  passages  learnt  by  heai-t  will  generally  be 
poetry,  but  the  committing  to  memory  of  short  and  strik- 
ing passages  of  prose  should  not  be  debarred,  and  will  be 
more  frequent  as  the  pupils  advance  in  age. 

When  the  teacher  has  decided  that  a  passage  is  worthy 

of  being  committed  to    memory  his   efforts 

Le^Eurain/^         must   be  directed   towards  arousing    in  his 

pupils'  minds  the  desire  to  learn  it  by  heart. 

Nothing   is  less  calculated  to  do  this  than  the  common 


LITERATURB.  141 

practice  of  calling  upon  a  wliole  class  to  repeat  the  passage 
siiiuiltaneously,  Hue  by  line,  after  tlie  teacher.  Indeed, 
such  a  dreary,  monotonous,  mechanical,  tread-mill  method 
of  proceeding  may  be  relied  on  to  smother  most  eft'ectv;ally 
any  real  love  for  poetry  and  any  desire  to  commit  it  to 
memory. 

In  no  case  is  it  more  absolutely  essential  to  evoke 
desire  than  in  this,  for  the  teacher's  object  should  not 
be  to  secure  that  every  child  in  a  class  has  memorised  a 
certain  number  of  lines,  but  that  every  one  of  his  pupils, 
to  the  fullest  extent  of  his  capacity,  has  had  his  heart 
touched  by  noble  thought  and  sweet  sound,  and  has  found 
delight  in  making  his  own  tliat  which  has  so  wrought  upon 
him.  So  is  he  forming  a  habit  of  committing  to  his 
memory  passages  which  impress  him  by  their  beauty  or 
their  truth.  If  this  is  not  secui-ed,  if  learning  poetry  by 
heart  is  looked  upon  as  a  task  to  be  discontinued  as  soon 
as  school  life  is  over  and  not  as  a  natiiral  reaction  of  the 
mind  to  pieces  of  literature  which  specially  attract  it, 
then  no  matter  how  perfect  the  class  recitation  may  be 
from  the  point  of  view  of  a  mechanical  examination,  the 
learning  of  that  which  is  recited  has  been  educationally 
mischievous. 

Further,  children  are  drawn  towards  poetry  in  different 
ways  and  to  different  extents.  A  passage  which  evokes 
enthusiasm  in  one  will  leave  another  cold.  They  differ, 
again,  in  the  ease  with  which  passages  become  fixed  in  their 
memories,  so  that  what  is  easy  for  one  is  difficult  for 
another. 

All  these  considerations  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  learn  by  heart  passages 
they  delight  in,  but  that  they  should  not  be  compelled  to 
do  so.  There  is  no  educational  reason,  indeed  there  is  no 
reason  save  custom  and  that  love  of  mechanical  imiformity 


142  THE    TEACHING    OP    ENGLISH     : 

which  works  such  havoc  in  educational  work,  why  all  the 
members  of  a  class  should  be  expected  to  commit  to  memory 
exactly  the  same  passages.  Whenever  that  is  insisted  upon, 
with  some  children  at  any  rate  the  learning  becomes  a 
matter  of  the  teacher's  compulsion,  and  the  true  object 
of  the  exercise  is  made  nearly  impossible  of  attainment. 
When  the  teacher  really  loves  poetry,  and  the  class  read- 
ing book  contains  suitable  pieces  which  the  teacher  reads 
to  his  class  and  talks  over  with  them,  leading  them  to  pene- 
trate the  meaning  and  feel  the  spirit  of  the  whole,  it  is  easy 
to  excite  in  many  breasts  the  desire  to  finish  the  learning, 
which,  indeed,  is  nearly  done  by  the  time  the  discussion  of 
the  passage  is  finished.  This  completion  of  the  memorising 
will  be  most  conveniently  accomplished  out  of  school. 

The  teacher  can  aid  the  actual  learning  by  showing  how 
the  consecutive  stanzas  or  other  divisions  may  be  most 
readily  linked  together  by  associating  them  serially  both 
by  sequence  of  idea  and  by  flow  of  words.  All  that  is 
needed  further  is  for  the  teacher  to  show  his  appi-e- 
ciation  of  his  pupils'  efforts. 

So  in  a  recitation  lesson  the  dreary  and  deadening  mono- 
tony of  the  same  passage  being  said  over  and  over  again, 
simultaneously  and  individually,  and  by  all  in  the  same 
artificial  mechanical  way,  which  is  the  inevitable  outcome 
of  simultaneous  repetition  in  imitation  of  the  teacher's 
line  to  line  copy,  will  be  rejjlaced  by  the  individual  saying 
of  many  pieces,  each  of  which,  having  been  learnt  with 
hearty  willingness  and  because  it  is  liked  and  felt,  is  recited 
with  true  and  natural  expression.  For,  as  Ruskin  says, 
"  Fine  elocution  means  first  an  exquisitely  close  attention 
to,  and  intelligence  of,  the  meaning  of  words,  and  perfect 
sympathy  with  what  feeling  they  describe;  but  indicated 
always  with  reserve."' 

'  Fors  Claviyera,  vol.  iv.,  p.  469. 


LITERATURE.  143 

2.  In  the  upper  classes,  though  it  is  to  be  hoped  and 
expected  that  the  actual  amount  learned  by 
Intensive  heart  will  continually  increase  as  the  pupils' 

tent  and  Form  ^^^i^wledge  and  appreciation  of  literature 
of  Literature,  grow,  yet  it  should  no  longer  be  the  only 
addition  to  the  vise  of  the  reading  book.  In 
these  classes  a  more  detailed  study  should  be  undertaken 
of  both  the  content  and  the  form  of  literatm-e.  This 
should  grow  gradually  out  of  the  discussions  of  passages 
of  which  we  have  just  spoken.  From  general  under- 
standing of  thought  and  a  more  or  less  vague  feeling  of 
appreciation,  the  children  should  be  led  to  a  more  explicit 
comprehension  of  why  such  and  such  a  passage  is  effective, 
and  of  the  full  extent  and  force  of  its  meaning. 

The  utmost  tact  is  necessary  to  prevent  such  detailed 
examination  of  matter  and  fomi  from  destroying  the 
effect  of  the  passage  on  the  mind.  As  the  beauty  of  a 
flower  disappears  when  it  is  dissected,  so  that  the  teacher 
of  natural  history  must  always  be  on  his  guard  lest  in 
giving  information  he  destroys  "admiration,  hope,  and 
love,"  so  it  is  with  the  flowers  of  literature.  Indeed, 
so  great  is  the  danger  that  a  teacher  who  does  not 
feel  intensely  the  sacredness  of  the  beauty  of  literatui'e 
will  be  wise  not  to  attempt  to  give  such  lessons 
as  those  we  are  about  to  consider.  Better  is  it  to 
leave  the  young  mind  to  the  vague  and  unconscious 
influence  of  what  it  reads  than  to  form  the  habit  of 
approaching  every  literary  masterpiece  in  a  coldly  critical 
spirit.  Any  analysis  of  literary  form,  any  working  out 
of  allusions,  similes,  and  metaphors,  any  marking  of  the 
appropriateness  of  words  and  rhythm  to  idea,  or  bringinof 
out  the  effect  of  rhyme  and  alhteration,  which  is  not  kept 
strictly  ancillary  to  the  effect  of  the  passage  as  a  whole 
does  more  harm  than  good.     But  when  kept  subordinate 


144  THE    TEACHING    OP    ENGLISH  : 

and  carried  out  with  care  and  reverence  it  is  of  considerable 
value. 

By  good  reading  aloud  the  teacher  should  have  given  his 
pupils,  even  in  the  youngest  classes,  a  feeling  for  the  beauty 
of  rhythm,  rhyme,  and  alliteration,  though  it  will  be  largely 
unconscious.  In  the  older  classes  this  should  be  made 
exphcit.  Probably  this  is  most  effectively  done  by  so 
changing  words  as  to  destroy  the  element  of  form,  and 
then  comparing  the  effect  of  the  mutilated  passage  with 
the  original  when  both  are  read  aloud.  For  example, 
nothing  appears  to  the  child  when  he  first  thinks  about 
it  as  more  artificial  than  rhyme,  or  less  essential  to  the  ex- 
pression of  meaning.  Tahe,  then,  as  Mr.  Bourne  suggests, 
such  a  passage  as  Campbell's — 

*'  On  Linden,  when  the  sun  was  low, 
All  bloodless  lay  the  untrodden  snow. 
And  dark  as  winter  was  the  flow 

Of  Iser,  rolling  rapidly." 

"  And,  to  whatever  it  be  due,  it  is  impossible  to  deny  a 
great  dignity  in  the  verses.  They  have  a  charm  to  pene- 
trate deaf  ears.  And  what  part  in  this  do  the  rhymes 
play  ?  It  is  worth  while  to  try.  Preserving  the  metre  of 
the  verses  unimpaired,  we  may  get  rid  of  the  rhymes  by  a 
slight  alteration.  We  will  let  the  first  line  run  '  On  Lin- 
den, as  the  sun  went  down ' ;  and  in  the  third  we  will  say 
flood  or  stream  instead  of  floiv ;  and — well,  is  the  change 
important  ?  We  have  only  robbed  the  thing  of  its  pene- 
trating force,  converted  its  stately  march  into  a  jog-trot 
amble  not  worthy  of  attention  and  not  likely  to  attract  any. 
In  short,  we  have  done  no  more  than  spoil  the  poem.  Its 
golden  circlet  of  rhyme  seems  to  have  been  a  royal  crown, 
torn  away  by  our  democratic  common-sense."' 

'  Article  on  Rhythm  and  Rhyme,  MacmiUan''8  Magazine,  May 
190G,  p.  546. 


LITERATURE.  145 

Of  course,  sucL  an  exercise  will  not  need  repetition. 
When  once  the  fact  that  much  of  the  force  of  verse  de- 
pends upon  such  an  element  of  form  as  rhyme  has  been 
brought  home  to  the  mind,  there  is  no  need  to  prove  it 
again,  though  it  may  be  referred  to  frequently.  But  in 
some  such  way  it  is  desirable  to  help  the  children  to  feel 
that  every  word  and  every  syllable  in  a  perfect  poem  is 
necessary  to  its  perfection,  and  exercises  which  do  this  and 
go  no  further  are  always  admissible,  and  sometimes  abso- 
hitely  necessaiy  if  any  worthy  appreciation  of  beautifid 
fonn  is  to  be  trained.  But  the  mind  should  not  be  allowed 
to  dwell  on  the  mutilated  passage ;  it  should  turn  from  it 
to  the  noble  original  with  relief  and  renewed  enjoyment. 
If  this  is  not  secured  such  an  exercise  may  actually  have 
the  vicious  result  of  inciting  the  pupils  to  deform  and 
debase  other  verse  merely  as  an  exercise  in  ingenuity. 

The  tme  object  of  the  detailed  consideration  of  a  piece 
of  literature  is  to  get  from  it  as  much  as  possible  of  what 
the  author  meant  to  put  into  it.  "  Passive  reading,"  says 
Lord  Avebury,  "is  of  very  little  use.  We  must  try  to 
realise  what  we  read."'  The  teacher's  function  is  to  help 
each  individual  pupil  to  such  realisation.  Of  the  kind  of 
help  a  good  teacher  may  give  Ruskin  gives  us  an  example 
in  sections  20-26  of  his  Sesame  and  Lilies,  a  passage  which 
every  teacher  of  literature  will  do  well  to  study,  though  the 
portion  of  Lycidas  dealt  with  is  more  suited  to  older  pupils 
than  it  is  to  those  in  primary  schools. 

3.  Let  us  take,  as  a  simpler  example,  the  passage  from 
Tennyson's   Idylls    of    the   King    in    which 
Example  from    the  poet  describes  the  throwing  away  of  the 
'  Idylfs^  of  the     sword  Excalibur  by  Sir  Bedivere,  beginning 
King.'  "  So  all  day  long  the  noise  of  battle  roll'd," 

1  The  Use  of  Life,  ch.  ix, 
PR.  TO,  10 


146  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

and  continuing  for  a  liimdred  and  sixt}'^  lines  to 

"  But  when  I  looked  again,  behold  an  arm, 
Clothed  in  white  samite,  mystic,  wondeiful. 
That  caught  him  bj'^  the  hilt,  and  brandished  him 
Three  times,  and  drew  him  under  in  the  mere." 

This  supplies  material  for  several  lessons.  The  general 
order  of  treatment  would  involve  three  readings  of  the 
poem. 

In  the  first  the  general  drift  and  meaning  of  the 
passage  are  considered,  and  the  aim  is  to  raise  enthusiasm 
and  interest  in  it  as  a  beautifully  told  story,  and  to  set  up 
an  ideal  of  duty  triumphing  over  temptation. 

In  the  second  reading  consideration  is  given  to  the  form, 
though  not  to  the  form  alone,  but  always  in  relation  to  the 
matter.  The  aim  here  is  to  make  clear  every  expi-ession 
and  to  lead  to  an  appreciation  of  such  things  as  the  ex- 
quisite choice  of  words,  the  harmony  of  sound  and  rhythm 
with  idea,  and  the  beauty  and  appropriateness  of  simile, 
metaphor,  and  descriptive  epithet. 

The  third  reading  gathers  up  the  results  of  the  two 
former,  and  should  result  in  a  fuller  and  deeper  apjDrecia- 
tion,  intellectual,  emotional,  and  aesthetic,  of  the  whole 
passage  which  would  find  its  natural  expression  in  an 
intelligent  and  sympathetic  oral  reading  by  the  pupils. 

The  first  reading  must  be  set  in  a  background  of  the 
main  outlines  of  the  Arthurian  legend. 
General  p^-^  better  subjects  for   detailed   study  by 

of  Whole.  pupils  of  about  thirteen  years  of  age  could 

be  chosen  than  a  selection  from  the  Idylls, 
making  a  consecutive  and  organic  whole,  and  if  this  has 
been  taken  the  passage  now  under  consideration  falls  into 
its  natural  place,  and  the  only  introduction  required  is  for 
the  teacher  to  remind  the  cliildren 


LITERATURE.  147 

(a)  of  the  oatli  of  obedience  and  fealty  to  the  king 
taken  by  the  knights  of  the  Round  Table ;  how 

"Arthur  sat 
Crowned  on  the  dais,  and  his  warriors  cried, 
'  Be  thou  the  king,  and  we  will  work  thy  will 
Who  love  thee. '     Then  the  king  in  low  deep  tones, 
And  simple  words  of  great  autliority. 
Bound  them  by  so  strait  vows  to  his  own  self. 
That  when  they  rose,  knighted  from  kneeling,  some 
Were  pale  as  at  the  passing  of  a  ghost. 
Some  flushed,  and  others  dazed,  as  one  who  wakes 
Half -blinded  at  the  coming  of  a  light."  ^ 

What,  then,  was  the  nature  of  this  awe-inspiring  oatli  ? 
Arthur  tells  us — 

"I  made  them  laj^  their  hands  in  mine  and  swear 
To  reverence  the  King,  as  if  lie  were 
Their  conscience,  and  their  conscience  as  their  King, 
To  break  the  heathen  and  uphold  the  Christ, 
To  ride  abroad,  redressing  human  wrongs. 
To  speak  no  slander,  no,  nor  listen  to  it. 
To  lead  sweet  lives  in  purest  chastity. 
To  love  one  maiden  only,  cleave  to  her, 
And  worship  her  by  years  of  noble  deeds. 
Until  they  won  her."^ 

The  teacher  should  emphasise  markedly  tlie  second  and 
third  lines,  as  they  bear  directly  on  the  conduct  of  Sir 
Bedivere  soon  to  be  described. 

(b)  of 

"  Bedivei-e,  the  first  of  all  his  knights, 
Knighted  by  Arthur  at  his  crowning."  * 

(c)  of  the  history  and  properties  of  Excalibur,  especially 
of  the  two  inscriptions  on  the  blade^ 

"  on  one  side, 
Graven  in  the  oldest  tongue  of  all  this  world, 
'  Take  me,'  but  turn  the  blade  and  you  shall  see, 

1  The  Cominq  of  Arthur.      ^  Ouinevere.      ^  The  Coming  oj'  Arthur. 


148  THE    TEACHINU    OF    ENOLTRH  : 

And  written  in  the  speecli  ye  speak  yourself 
'Cast  me  away  !  '  "  • 

(d)  of  the  battle  with  Moclrecl,  the  disastrous  issue  of 
wliicli  leads  immediately  to  the  passage  now  to  be 
studied — 

"  Tlien  Mudred  smote  his  liege 
Hard  on  that  helm  which  many  a  heatlien  sword 
Had  beaten  thin  ;  while  Arthur  at  one  blow, 
Striking  the  last  stroke  with  Excalibur, 
Slew  him,  and  all  but  slain  himself,  he  fell."  ^ 

If  there  has  been  no  previous  study  of  the  Idi/lls  the 
teacher  must  give  an  oral  lesson  setting  forth  the  main 
outlines  of  the  legend,  taking  care  to  bring  out  strongly 
the  four  points  with  which  we  have  just  dealt. 

After  this  introduction  the  first  reading  commences. 
The  passage  naturally  divides  into  three  sections,  and  the 
general  method  of  dealing  with  each  should  be  for  the 
teacher  to  induce  by  conversation  with  the  pupils  such  a 
setting  of  ideas  as  will  make  his  reading  of  the  section 
successful  in  its  appeal  to  their  minds  and  hearts.  In 
such  a  conversation  phrases  and  brief  passages  of  the 
poem  itself  which  might  prevent  the  apprehension  of 
the  meaning  of  the  whole  may,  at  times,  be  introduced  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  their  general  signification  clear. 
The  result  of  the  conversation  should  be  that  the  pupils 
are  in  a  state  of  expectancy  and  anticipation  which  de- 
mands the  reading  of  the  passage  for  its  satisfaction. 
Each  section  is,  therefore,  completed  hj  an  uninterrupted 
reading  by  the  teacher,  the  pupils  having  no  copies  of  the 
poem,  but  concentrating  their  efforts  in  imagining  the 
scenes  and  feeling  the  emotions  expressed  by  the  words 
they  hear. 

'  The  Gomiwj  of  Arthur,  ^  The  Passing  of  Arthur. 


LITEKATURE. 


149 


The  first  section  begins  by  picturing  the  scene,  and  the 
children  may  be  allowed  if  they  will  to  close  their  eyes  so 
as  to  give  their  visual  imagination  free  play,  uninterrupted 
by  the  sights  around  them.  Let  them  see  vividly  the  lonely 
spot,  the  "  broken  chancel  witli  a  broken  cross  "  to  which 
Sir  Bedivere,  the  last,  as  he  had  been  the  first,  of  Arthur's 
knights,  bears  the  dying  king.  Let  them  then  try  to 
imagine  the  thoughts  and  emotions  that  would  pass  through 
Arthur's  mind  as  he  reflected  on  his  life's  work  and  its 
sad  outcome,  and  to  think  what  last  thing  he  would  feel 
there  remained  for  him  to  do.  Here  the  teacher  may  quot« 
the  half-dozen  lines  in  which  the  king  recalls  how  he  first 
oljtained  possession  of  the  sword.  But  how  can  Ai'thur 
cast  the  sword  into  the  lake  now  he  is  wounded  ?  So  the 
mission  of  Sir  Bedivere  is  seen  to  be  natural  and  inevitable. 

Let  the  children  now  dwell  a  little  on  the  lieauty  and 
richness  of  Excalibur,  so  that  they  may  imderstand  the 
temptations  which  might  assail  the  knight.  Let  them 
try  to  put  themselves  in  his  place — to  see  him  just 
about  to  throw  the  sword,  when  the  flash  of  moonlight 
ghnting  on  the  jewelled  hilt  brings  sudden  temptation 
upon  him.  Unless  they  feel  deeply  the  force  of  the 
temptation  the  lesson  will  here  lose  its  grip  on  them. 
If  they  do  feel  it  they  will  suggest  the  result,  Avhich  the 
teacher  will  do  well  to  give  in  Tennyson's  words.  The 
teacher  then,  with  the  aid  of  the  class,  sums  up  the  heads 
of  the  story  so  far,  and  closes  the  section  by  an  un- 
interrupted reading  of  the  passage. 

The  second  section  then  follows  with  the  query  :  What 
then  would  be  the  feelings  of  Bedivere  ?  and  oi  Arthur  ? 
Alternately  the  pupils  inust  put  themselves  in  the  place  of 
each,  feel  shame  with  the  former,  and  grief  and  disappoint- 
ment with  tlie  latter.  This  last  feeling  is  led  up  t(^  by  a 
fuller  examination  of  the  reason  why  Bedivere  had  been 


150  THE    TEACHINO    OF    ENGLISH: 

SO  wrong  in  yielding  to  the  temptation,  and  how  the  king 
would,  in  consequence,  regard  his  conduct.  The  teacher 
should  then  read  as  impressively  as  he  can  the  second 
charge — 

"  Yet  now,  I  charge  thee,  quickly  go  again. 
As  thou  ait  lief  and  dear,  and  do  the  thing 
I  bade  thee,  watch,  and  lightly  bring  me  word." 

The  children  must  go  in  heart  and  thought  with  Sir 
Bedivere  as  he  slowly  seeks  the  lake  the  second  time.  If 
they  have  entered  sympathetically  into  his  state  of  mind 
they  will,  with  a  little  assistance  and  suggestion  from  the 
teacher,  work  out  the  train  of  thought  by  which  he  tries  to 
deceive  his  conscience.  But  tl\at  he  has  not  really  done 
so,  though  he  has  hardened  his  heart,  will  be  brought 
out  by  quoting — 

"  And  so  strode  back  slow  to  tlie  wounded  king." 

Here  the  second  section  ends,  and  all  that  is  required  is 
an  impressive  reading  by  the  teacher. 

In  the  third  section  the  children  must  again  be  asked  to 
put  themselves  in  the  place  of  the  king,  who  knows  his 
end  is  near  while  his  last  task  yet  remains  unaccom- 
plished. They  must  feel  the  sore  indignation  which 
provokes  his  bitter  reproaches.  Then  they  must  in  turn 
feel  the  effect  of  the  stinging  words  on  the  loving  but 
erring  knight,  so  that  they  are  stung  with  him,  with  him 
plunge  blindly  down  to  the  lake,  seize  the  sword,  and,  with 
eyes  closed  to  temptation,  fling  it  whirling  into  the  mere. 
Here  they  will  picture  the  great  sword's  fliglit  through  the 
moonbeams,  and  then  foretell  the  end.  The  teacher  now 
reads  the  account  of  what  they  foresaw  would  happen. 
Teacher  and  class  together  briefly  discuss  Sir  Bedivere's 
state  of  mind,  and  the  reasons  for  his  joy  and  satis- 
faction.    Togethej-  they  go  with  him  as  he  "lightly  "  seeks 


LITERATURE.  151 

his  master,  contrafit.ing  this  third  return  witli  the  two 
previous  ones.  Together  they  anticipate  the  character  of 
the  conversation  between  the  dying  king  and  the  faithful 
knight.     The  teacher's  reading  completes  the  section. 

No  attempt  should  be  made  at  any  explicit  statement 
of  the  moral  lesson  to  be  learnt. '  This  lesson  is  obvious, 
and  will  be  more  effective  if  it  is  not  talked  about 
or  formulated.  Tliere  ai'e  few  greater  mistakes  than  to 
attempt  to  state  a  direct  moral  outcome  of  a  piece  of 
literature.  As  Addison  says,  "  As  exercise  becomes  tedious 
and  painful,  when  we  make  use  of  it  only  as  the  means  of 
health,  so  reading  is  apt  to  grow  uneasy  and  burdensome, 
when  we  apply  ourselves  to  it  only  for  oiu-  improvement  in 
virtue.  For  this  reason,  th.e  virtue  which  we  gather  from 
a  fable,  or  an  allegory,  is  like  the  health  we  get  by 
hunting ;  as  we  are  engaged  in  an  agreeable  pursuit  that 
draws  us  on  with  pleasure,  and  makes  us  insensible  of 
the  fatigues  tha,t  accompany  it."^  When  the  literature 
has  been  truly  treated,  its  lesson  for  life,  whatever  it  may 
be,  v/hether  '  moral '  in  the  narrower  sense  or  not,  will 
have,  been  learnt  by  each  pupil  to  the  f vill  extent  to  which 
he  is  capable  of  learning  it,  and  in  the  way  most  likely  to 
make  the  learning  real.  It  is  in  the  intensity  with  which 
the  pupils  enter  into  and  realise  the  moral  situation  and 
respond  to  it  emotionally  and  volitionally  as  well  as 
intellectually  that  the  training  effect  of  the  teaching  of 
literatiu'e  centres. 

Tn   the   second    reading   of   the   poem   each  pupil  will 

have  a  copy  of  the  words  and  a  manuscript 
Detailed  Study.  ,      ,     .        ,  .  ,    ,  ,  i     i      ,       . 

book,  m  which  he  can  enter  such  short  notes 

as  he  needs.      As  has  been  said,  much  delicate  tact  is 

necessary  to  prevent  the  detailed  examination  of  form  in 

relation  to   matter  from  marring,  instead   of   enhancing, 

1   The  Tatltr,  Nu.  U7. 


lo2 


THE    TEAOHINU    OF    ENOLISH 


the  effect  of  the  previous  lessons.  The  teacher  must 
feel  his  way  carefully  with  his  finger  on  the  emotional 
pulse  of  his  class.  After  all,  the  result  depends  on  him. 
If  his  heart  is  really  attuned  to  the  poem,  if  his  eye  is 
continually  on  it  as  an  exquisite  whole  so  that  all  his 
efforts  are  directed  to  Linnging  out  its  various  beauties  as 
elements  in  that  whole,  if  his  literary  enthvisiasm  never 
flags,  there  is  no  danger.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  no  rule 
can  be  laid  down  as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  consideration 
of  detail  may  be  profitably  carried ;  it  depends  on  the 
teacher  much  more  than  on  the  class,  though,  certainly,  all 
children  are  not  equally  responsive  to  beauty  of  literaiy 
form.  We  shall,  therefore,  only  indicate  and  exemplify 
the  kinds  of  points  to  which  attention  may  profitably  be 
directed. 

First,  there  is  fuller  elucidation  of  the  meaning  of 
words  and  phrases,  such  as — 

"  The  sequel  of  to-daj'  unsolders  all 
The  goodliest  fellowship  of  famous  knights 
Whereof  this  world  holds  record." 

"Clothed  in  white  samite,  mj'stic,  wonderful.'' 

''Myriads  of  topaz-lights,  and  jacinth-work 
Of  subtlest  jewelry." 

"as  beseemed 
Thy  fealty." 

"  As  thou  art  lief  and  dear." 

"How  euriouslj'  and  stiangely  chased." 

"a  dying  king 
Laid  widowed  of  the  power  in  his  eye 
That  bowed  tlie  will." 

This  is,  of  course,  merely  auxiUary.  Tl)e  teacher's  full 
aim  is  to  m:i.ke  the  pupils  realise  that  in  pooti-y  the  verbal 
expression  fits  tlie  meaning  and  gives  it  an  enhanced  beauty 
and  force. 


lilTKliATUKK.  153 

Lead  tlie  children  to  iippreciate  tlie  skill  with  which  the 
poet  culls  up  vivid  pictures  in  the  miud,  as  iu  the  passage — 

"  And  iu  the  moon  athwart  the  place  of  tombs, 
Where  lay  the  mighty  bones  of  ancient  men, 
01(1  knights,  and  over  them  the  sca-vvind  sang 
Shrill,  chill,  with  flakes  of  foam." 


or  lu 
or  again 


"  the  shininsi-  levels  of  the  lake." 


"  in  the  many-knotted  watciflags, 
That  whistle  still' and  dry  about  the  marge." 

Let  them  realise  how  we  seem  to  hear 

"  the  ripple  washing  iu  the  reeds, 
And  the  wild  water  lapping  on  the  crag." 

It  is  quite  useless  to  tell  theui  these  things:  they  must  l)e 
led,  by  elt'eetive  reading,  by  giving  them  time  to  dwell 
on  the  W'Ords,  by  contagion  of  the  teacher's  enthusiasm,  to 
realise  them  for  themselves. 

Bring  home  to  the  children  the  force  of  such  descriptive 
words  and  phrases  as  "  clothed  in  white  samite,  mystic, 
ivunderj'ul,"  "dividing  the  swift  mind,"  "clouded  with  his 
o^vu  conceit,"  "  the  giddy  pleasure  of  the  eyes,"  "  the  sjilen- 
dour  of  the  moon."  Make  sure  that  the  similes  and  meta- 
phors are  appi'eciated  in — 

"  The  great  bi'and 
Made  lightnings  in  the  splendour  of  the  moon. 
And  flashing  round  and  round,  and  whirled  in  an  arch, 
Shot  like  a  sti'eamer  of  the  northern  morn, 
Seen  where  the  moving  isles  of  winter  shock 
By  night,  with  noises  of  the  northerxi  sea. 
So  flashed  and  fell  the  brand  Excalibur." 

Most  impoi'tant  of  all,  in  cultivating  the  sense  of  literary 
form,  is  to  bring  home  to  the  children  how  the  character- 
istic sounds  iu  a  passage  are  in  accord  with  its  main 
idea.     Thus,  the  opening  sentences,  with  their  long  and 


154  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

open  vowels,  and  soft  and  smooth  consonants,  give  the 
feeling  of  moiirnfulness.  Tlien  the  change  to  the  harsher 
initial  consonants  at 

"The  bold  Sir  Bedivero  uplifted  him," 

gives  the  feeling  of  effort  and  strain.  Arthur's  soliloquy 
is  appropriately  sot  to  words  with  continually  recvirrent, 
long,  but  close  vowels  with  soft  consonants,  again  changing 
to  more  stirring  consouiLut  sounds  at 

"Thou,  therefore,  take  my  brand  Excalibur, 
Which  was  my  pride," 

and  subsiding  again  to  the  preceding  note  at 

"  for  tliou  remembercst  how." 

The  energy  again  breaks  out  at 

"But  now  delay  not :  talvc  Excalibur, 
And  fling  him  far  into  the  middle  mere." 

The  reply  of  Sir  Bedivere  is  couched  in  short  and  almost 
jerlcy  syllables,  and  hearing  the  words 

"  He,  stepping  down 
By  zig-zag  paths,  and  juts  of  pointed  rock," 

compels  the  imagination  to  represent  the  rough  clambering 
down  the  rugge.l  path,  whilst  the  very  next  line, 
"  Came  on  the  shining  levels  of  the  lake," 

gives  in  the  sounds  of  the  last  five  words  the  spirit  of  quiet 
waters  in  the  still  moonlight. 

Enough  has  prol)ably  been  said  to  make  clear  the  spirit 
in  which  this  harmony  between  sound  and  sense  may  be 
brought  home  to  the  children.  But  we  cannot  refrain  from 
pointing  out  bow  uuich  of  the  picture-forming  power  of 

"  the  rip[)le  wasliing  in  the  reeds, 
And  the  wild  water  lapping  on  tlie  crag," 


iilTEBATUKE.  155 

is  due  to  the  very  sound  of  tlie  words,  or  how  tlie  rush  and 
energy  of  swift  niovenieut  start  out  of 

"  and  laii, 
And,  leaping  down  the  lidgos  lightly,  phuigod 
Among  the  buhnish-beds,  and  clutched  the  sword, 
And  strongly  wheeled  and  threw  it," 

with  its  hard  consonants  and  short  vowels,  to  which  the  full 
force  should  be  given  in  oral  reading — by  teacher  or  pupils 
as  may  be  thought  advisable.  The  more  vividly  the 
children  appreciate  the  importance  of  almost  every  letter 
in  rendering  meaning  effectively,  the  more  will  they  stri\'e 
to  attain  distinctness  and  force  of  utterance.  And  the 
teacher  who  realises  this  will  see  how  important  it  is  to 
cidtivate  this  art  in  his  pupils  as  an  aid  to  their  culture. 

When  by  tasteful  reading  it  has  been  brought  home 
to  the  pupils  that  the  force  of  ideas  is  expressed  by  the 
very  sound  of  well  chosen  words,  they  will  delight  in 
finding  new  examples  for  themselves.  But  the  teacher 
nuist  be  on  his  guard  lest  the  interest  in  the  words  as 
mere  words  becomes  dominant  instead  of  that  in  the  union 
of  words  and  thought. 

Of  course,  these  various  aspects  of  literary  form  will  Ije 
considered  together  as  they  occur  in  the  poem,  not  one  at 
a  time  as,  for  simplicity  of  exposition,  they  have  been 
treated  here. 

After  this  intensive  study  of  form  a  little  time  may  lie 
spent  on  a  consideration  of  the  character  of  Sir  Bedivere 
as  shown  in  the  passage,  on  which  the  pupils  might  well 
write  a  short  essay,  illustrating  their  judgments  bylines  from 
the  poem,  which  they  should  have  by  their  side  for  reference. 

The  class  is  now  ready  for  the  third  reading,  which  Avill 

be   an   oral   rendering   of  the   whole   piece, 

various  pupils  taking  the  different  portions, 

but  care  being  exercised  that  eacla  such  portion  gives  one 


156  THE    TKAUHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

complete  step  iu  the  story.  The  teacher  who  has  suc- 
ceede-d  in  his  aim  Avill  find  that  much  of  the  poem  is 
ah-eady  known  by  many  of  the  pupils,  and  that  they  will 
be  keenly  interested  in  completing  the  learning  of  it,  which 
he  will  encourage  them  to  do. 

4.  Of  course,  in   much  literature  the  appeal  is   much 
more  predominantly  to  the  intellect  than  it 
Passages  of  a     is  iu  the  poem  we   have   just  studied.     In 
predominantly  ^  though  the  general  mode  of  treat- 

Intellectual  '  ^  °  1       ■        -n  T, 

Character.  ment  will  be  the  same,  the  emphasis  will  be 

differently  placed.     For  in  such  writings  it 
is   not   so    much   the  inner  feelings  and   motives   which 
find  expression  as  the  current  of  thoughts.     The  teacher's 
primary  aim  must,  therefore,  be  to  ensure 
Examples  that  those  thoughts  are  re-thought  by  his 

o^i'^RicTes^'       pupils,  and  this  involves  such  a  study  of  the 
form  of   expression  as  mil   make  plain  its 
excellencies.     For  example,  to  take  the  opening  of  Bacon's 
essay  on  Riches — 

"I  camiot  call  riches  better  tliati  the  baggage  of  virtue  ;  the 
Roman  word  is  better,  '  impedimenta ' ;  for  as  the  baggage  is 
to  an  army,  so  is  riches  to  virtue  ;  it  cannot  be  spared  nor  left 
behind,  but  it  hindereth  the  march  ;  yea,  and  the  care  of  it 
sometimes  loseth  or  disturbeth  the  victory." 

Here  the  success  of  the  pupils  in  mastering  Bacon's 
meaning  is  altogether  dependent  on  the  fulness  and  vivid- 
ness Avith  which  they  enter  into  his  metaphor.  What  is 
the  baggage  of  an  army  ?  Why  is  the  Latin  word  here 
more  expressive  ?  What  is  the  object  of  an  army's 
march  ?  Why  is  baggage  necessary  to  it  ?  Yet  how  may 
the  baggage  hinder  it,  or  spoil  a  possible  victory  ?  Why  is 
life  like  the  march  of  an  army,  and  how  may  riches  hinder 
the  attainment  of  life's  aim?  Such  (Questions  should  be 
considered  in  conversation  betAveen  teacher  and  class,  and 


LITERATURE.  157 

the  teacher  will  do  much  to  bring  out  the  poiuts,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  widen  the  hterarj  outlook  of  his  pupils, 
by  quoting  pertinent  passages  from  other  writers,  as — 

"There  is  that  maketh  himself  rich,  yet  hath  nothing. 
There  is  that  maketh  liimself  poor,  yet  hath  great  riches."  • 

The  whole  essay  will  then  be  read  in  the  light  of  these 
thoughts,  and  a  true  idea  reached  of  Bacon's  conception  of 
the  right  attitude  of  men  towards  riches  : 

"Seek  not  proud  riches,  but  such  as  thou  raayest  get  justly, 
use  soberly,  distribute  cheerfully,  and  leave  contentedly ;  3'et 
have  no  abject  or  friarly  contempt  of  them." 

The  pupils  should  be  led  to  see  the  plan  on  which  the 
essay  is  constructed  :  the  place  of  riches ;  the  true  attitude 
towards  them  ;  the  modes  of  gaining  riches  :  and  note  how 
each  is  illustrated.  The  study  may  well  end  in  the  read- 
ing  of  Solomon's  beautiful  passage  in  the  Proverbs— 
"  Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom. 

And  the  man  that  gotteth  understanding  : 
For  the  merchandise  of  it  is  better  than  the  luercliandise  of 
silver, 
And  the  gain  thereof  than  fine  gold. 
She  is  more  precious  tlian  rubies  : 

And  all  the  things  thou  canst  desire 
Are  not  to  be  compared  unto  her. 
Length  of  days  is  in  her  riglit  hand  ; 

And  in  her  left  riches  and  honour. 
Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 
And  all  her  paths  are  peace." 

A  consideration  of  this  passage  will  well  connect  the 

essay  on  Riches  with  that  on  Studies,  which 

Example  y^m  furnish  abrmdant  material  for  the  studv 

irora  Bacon  „  .  •' 

on  'Studies.'     01  ^  concise  yet  very  effective  prose  style. 

Let  the  pupils  mark  the  extreme  brevity  with 

which  the  ideas  are  expressed,  yet  a  brevity  in  which  each 

'  Proverha. 


158  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

word  contaius  a  world  of  meaning.  This  terseness  will  be 
brought  home  to  them  if  they  are  called  upon  to  express 
the  same  ideas  when  they  note  the  number  of  words  they 
themselves  employ.  Let  them  see  how  much  the  force  of 
the  style  is  enhanced  by  the  constant  comparisons  and 
antitheses,  and  the  use   of   striking  figurative  language, 


"  Some  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others  to  be  swallowed,  and 
some  few  to  be  chewed  and  digested." 

Example  from  As  a  last  example,  let  us  consider  a 
^C-^bb^°d°A  6  P^^s^'^g®  iroia  R.  L.  Stevenson's  essay  on 
and  Youth.'        Crabbed  Age  and  Youth  : — 

"  'Opinion  in  good  men,'  says  Milton,  'is  but  knowledge  in 
the  making.'  All  opinions,  properly  so  called,  are  stages  on 
the  road  to  truth.  It  does  not  follow  that  a  man  will  travel 
any  further  ;  but  if  he  has  really  considered  the  world  and 
drawn  a  conclusion,  he  has  travelled  as  far.  This  does  not 
apply  to  formulae  got  by  rote,  which  are  stages  on  the  road  to 
nowhere  but  second  cliildhood  and  the  grave.  To  have  a  catch- 
word in  your  mouth  is  not  the  same  thing  as  to  hold  an  opinion  ; 
still  less  is  it  the  same  thing  as  to  liavc  made  one  for  yourself. 
There  are  too  many  of  these  catchwords  in  the  world  for  people 
to  rap  out  upon  you  like  an  oath  and  by  way  of  an  argument. 
The}'  have  a  currency  as  intellectual  counters ;  and  many 
respectable  persons  pay  their  way  with  nothing  else.  They 
seem  to  stand  for  vague  bodies  of  theory  in  the  background. 
The  imputed  virtue  of  folios  full  of  knockdown  arguments  is 
supposed  to  reside  in  them,  just  as  some  of  the  majesty  of 
the  British  Empire  dwells  in  the  constable's  truncheon.  They 
are  used  in  pure  superstition,  as  old  clodhoppers  spoil  Latin  by 
way  of  an  exorcism.  And  yet  they  are  vastlj'  serviceable  for 
checking  unprofitable  discussion  and  stopping  the  mouths  of 
babes  and  sucklings.  And  when  a  young  man  comes  to  a 
certain  stage  of  intellectual  growth,  the  examination  of  these 
counters  forms  a  gymnastic  at  once  amusing  and  fortifying  to 
the  mind." 


LITERATURE.  169 

The  detfiiled  examination  of  ibis  piece  cannot  fail  to  be 
profitable  botli  morally  and  intellectually.     It  brings  home 
to  the  mind  the  nature  and  need  of  intellectual  honesty, 
and   its   dependence   on  clearness  of  thought.     The   two 
similes  should  be  worked  out  and  illustrated,  and  the  one 
reference  unfamiliar  to  the  children — that  to   the  Latin 
exorcisms — explained.     A  comparison  may   profitably   be 
made  between  the  style  of  this  passage  and  that  of  Bacon's 
Essays  :    the  pupils  will  easily  feel  the   greater  freedom 
and  familiarity  of  Stevenson's  writing,  and  yet  see  that 
the  foundation  lines  of  construction  are  very  similar. 
Selected  essays  from  Addison  and  Steele  furnish  miich 
profitable  material  for  study.     Passages  such 
Material.        ^   ^^    these,  used    judiciously    with    the   elder 
pupils,  tend  to  develop  in  them  a  taste  for 
literature  which  expresses  thought  and  feehug,  as  well  as 
for  the  literature  of  i-omance  which  describes  action.     The 
teacher  will  find  it  helpful  to   keep  a  common-place  book 
in  which  he  copies  out,  or  notes  down  references  to  passao-es 
he  meets  in  his  own  reading  and  whi(^h  strike  him  as  suited 
for  his  pupils.     Many  such  passages,  when  they  are  not 
found  in  the  school  reading  book,  are  short  enough  to  be 
written  by  the  children  in  a  manuscript  book.     Every  child 
should  be  provided  with  a  large  book  for  this  purpose, 
and  thus  form  the  habit  of  transcribing  passages  which 
specially    appeal    to    him.      Nor    must    such    copying    of 
passages  be  regarded  as  a  waate  of  school  time  ;  it  is  a 
direct  training  in  composition,  and  it  shows  the  pupils  one 
real  use  that  the  art  of  writing  may  be  to  them. 

5.  Such  forms  of  literature  as  those  we  have  considered 

will  form  the  bulk  of  the  school  work  in  that 
Shak^esp'eare.      subject.     But  m  the  highest  class  it  is  well 

to  undertake  a  detailed  study  of  one  of  tlie 
simpler  plays  of  Shakespeare,  such  as  fulius  Caesar, 


160  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

Tbe  same  general  lines  of  method  will  be  followed  as 
have  been  worked  out  for  the  passage  from  the  Idylls  of 
the  King,  though  the  second  reading  will  here  need  division 
into  two — one  for  the  detailed  examination  of  the  matter, 
tbe  other  for  that  of  the  form.  The  pupils  will  have  copies  of 
the  play  for  the  first  as  well  as  for  the  subsequent  readings, 
and  the  reading  of  the  text  will  generally  be  by  them. 

The  teacher  should  keep  before  their  minds  that  the 
work  they  are  studying  is  a  play  intended  to  be  acted  in  a 
theatre,  and  that,  in  consequence,  they  must  gather  the 
storv  from  the  words  put  into  the  mouths  of  the  characters, 
aided  to  some  small  extent  by  the  indications  of  their 
actions  furnished  by  the  stage  directions.  This  may, 
perhaps,  be  made  more  vivid  if,  in  addition  to  any 
liistorical  setting  that  may  be  necessary  for  understanding 
the  matter  of  the  play,  some  account  of  an  Elizabethan 
playhouse  is  given  as  a  setting  for  the  general  form,  special 
reference  being  made  to  the  arrangement  of  the  platform- 
stage  protruding  into  the  body  of  the  house. 

An  edition  with  an  accurate,  though,  if  needful,  ex- 
purgated text,  and  entirely  without  notes,  is  the  best. 
The  teacher  will,  of  course,  use  annotated  editions  in 
preparing  his  lessons,  but  it  is  best  for  each  pupil  to  make 
his  own  notes  in  a  manuscript  book. 

After  the  first  reading  the  pupils  should  be  required  to 
write  a  brief  analysis  of  the  story,  and  to  expand  that  into 
a  well  balanced  narrative. 

In  the  second  reading  more  detailed  attention  will  be 
given  to  the  elements  of  the  contents,  that  is,  to  the 
characters  of  the  persons  of  the  drama.  Under  the  name 
of  each  of  the  chief  of  these  the  pupils  should  enter  in 
manuscript  books  passages  which  illustrate  their  qualities. 
At  the  end  of  the  reading  the  pupils  should  be  able  to 
write  an  essav  on  each  character. 


LlTBEATtJRB.  161 

In  the  third  reading  the  language  of  the  text  will  receive 
more  detailed  study,  and  notes  will  be  made  in  the  manu- 
script books  on  the  meanings  of  words  and  phrases,  with 
occasional  derivations  and  illustrations  of  similar  uses  by 
other  writers  of  words  now  unfamiliar.  Grammatical 
analysis  will  be  applied  to  unravel  the  meanings  of  involved 
constructions.  But  all  this  linguistic  work  must  be  done 
with  great  restraint,  the  teacher  always  remembeiing  that 
his  aim  is  literary  and  aesthetic. 

After  this,  some  lessons  may  be  given  on  the  histori- 
cal basis  or  other  origin  of  the  play,  and  the  pupils 
may  read  with  profit  extracts  from  such  books  as 
Dowden's  Shakespeare  Primer  or  Hazlitt's  Characters 
of  Shakespeare's  Plays.  They  will  also  now  wish  to 
know  something  of  the  life  of  Shakespeare,  though  the 
teacher  must  be  careful  lest  biographical  details  which 
have  no  bearing  on  literary  work  loom  too  large.  The 
common  practice  of  beginning  lessons  on  literature  with 
a  life  of  the  author  is  so  preposterous  that  one  can  only 
regard  it  as  suggesting  the  law  that  the  life  of  a  custom 
bears  a  direct  ratio  to  its  absurdity. 

If  pupils  studying  a  play  of  Shakespeare  can  see  it  well 
acted,  much  vividness  and  interest  will  be  added  to  their 
conception.  This  is  not  always  possible,  and  doubtless  it 
tends  to  limit  the  imagination  of  the  pupils  to  the  actors' 
ideas  of  the  characters.  Nevertheless,  as  those  ideas  are 
the  outcome  of  much  more  study  than  the  children  have 
given,  the  limitation  imposed  is  hkely  to  be  wider  than 
that  the  children  have  reached,  for  it  must  be  remembered 
that  to  limit  a  possibility  is  not  necessarily  to  curtail  an 
actuality.  It  may  be  granted,  however,  that  to  see  a  play 
badly  acted  is  worse  than  not  to  see  it  acted  at  all. 

The  two  detailed  studies  of  the  play  will,  of  course,  be 
followed  by  a  fourth  consecutive  reading.      Scenes  will   no 

PK.  TO.  J  J 


l62  THE    TEACHING    01'    ENGLISH  : 

doubt,  have  been  learnt  by  heart,  some  by  one  set  of  pupils, 
others  by  others.  These  may  be  acted,  or  at  least  recited, 
by  the  pupils  who  know  them,  with  a  greater  freedom  than 
is  possible  in  mere  reading. 

6.  We  have  merely  attempted  to  indicate  lines  on  which 

literature  may  be  effectively  taught.  A  com- 
LiteratTure  as  plete  detailed  exposition  of  the  subject  would 
Other  Subjects.  I'equire  many  volumes.      But  the  teaching 

will  be  most  effective  when  the  teacher  works 
out  the  application  of  his  principles  for  himself. 

It  need  only  be  added  that  the  cultivation  of  literary 
taste  should  not  be  confined  to  lessons  definitely  dealing 
with  Hterature.  Many  other  lessons  can  be  brightened  and 
vivified  by  a  brief  piece  of  poetry  or  a  gem  of  prose  descrip- 
tion. Of  such  passages  the  teacher  of  other  subjects 
should  make  a  collection.  For  example,  a  lesson  on 
mountains  to  the  elder  pupils  which  is  enriched  by  the 
teacher  reading  well  chosen  selections  from  Euskin's 
essay  on  Mountains  in  the  Frondes  Acjrestes  will  have  a 
culture  value  which  the  bare  geographical  treatment  can 
never  give  it.  A  lesson  on  the  Nile  will  gain  by  reading 
the  sonnets  to  that  river  by  Shelley,  Keats,  and  Leigh 
Hunt,  Life  is  given  to  a  lesson  on  Venice  by  Shelley's 
lines : 

"  Beneath  is  spread  like  a  green  sea 
The  waveless  plain  of  Lunibardy, 
Bounded  by  the  vaporous  air, 
Islanded  by  cities  fair  ; 
Underneath  day's  azure  eyes 
Ocean's  nursling,  Venice  lies, 
A  peopled  labyrinth  of  walls, 
Ainphitrite's  destined  halls. 
Which  her  hoary  sire  now  paves 
With  his  blue  and  beaming  waves. 
Lo  !  the  sun  upsprings  behind, 


LITKRATURE.  Jgy 

Bioad,  red,  radiant,  lialf  recliued 
On  tlie  level  quivering  line 
Of  the  waters  crystalline  ; 
And  before  that  chasm  of  light, 
As  M-ithin  a  fiu-naco  hriglit, 
Column,  tower,  and  dome,  and  sjiire, 
Shine  like  obelisks  of  fire. 
Pointing  with  inconstant  motion 
From  the  altar  of  dark  ocean 
To  tlie  sapphire-tinted  skies ; 
As  the  flames  of  sacrifice 
From  the  marble  shrines  did  rise, 
As  to  pierce  tlie  dome  of  gold 
AVhere  Apollo  spoke  of  old. 

Sun-girt  City,  thou  hast  been 
Ocean's  child,  and  then  his  queen  ; 
Xow  is  come  a  darker  day, 
And  thou  soon  must  be  his  prey, 
If  the  power  that  raised  thee  here 
Hollow  so  thy  watery  bier."  ^ 

From  Lints  writltii  amoiij  the  Einjaman  Hilh 


CHAPTER    VII. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  :     COMPOSITION    AND 
GRAMMAR. 

1.  So  far  our  cousideratiou  has  been  given  to  the  culture 

of  the  pupils'  minds  by  contact  with  some  of 

Language  as  a    ^^q  o-reatest  creations  of  human  ffenius  ;  noble 
Means  of  .  o  ? 

Expression.        thoughts  expressed  in  noble  language  which 

have  inspired  many  generations  of  men,  and 
will  continue  to  exert  their  benign  sway  so  long  as  men 
shall  live  to  think  and  to  understand  thought.  But  it  is  in 
language  also  that  the  individual  finds  the  most  potent 
instrument  for  expressing  his  own  individuality  and  for 
influencing  others,  and  the  instrument,  moreover,  most 
universal  in  its  scope,  for  Avhile  not  all  are  swayed  by 
music,  or  painting,  or  sculpture,  or  architecture,  all  are 
influenced  by  language.  Moreover,  some  power  of  expres- 
sion is  essential  to  appreciation  of  the  expression  of  others. 
Power  of  expression,  like  every  other  kind  of  skill,  re- 
quires cultivation,  and  this  it  is  the  function  of  the  school 
to  give.  Expression  in  language  may  be  either  by  word  of 
mouth  or  by  written  language.  These  should  be  developed 
together,  and  each  in  close  connection  with  the  reception  of 
ideas. 


COMPOSITION    AND    ORAMIMAR.  165 

2.  Before,  liOAvever,  discussing  the  work  of  the  school  in 
training  expression  through  language,  we 
must  consider  briefly  the  closely  connected 
instruments  of  wi'itten  expression — writing  and  spelling. 
One  of  the  most  common  mistakes  of  schools  is  to 
forget  that  these  arts  are  merely  instruments,  and  to 
treat  them  as  ends  in  themselves.  Then  each  is  cultivated 
for  itself  and  largely  out  of  relation  to  that  art  of  written 
expression  of  thought  which  alone  makes  either  worth 
teaching  or  learning.  When  their  true  relation  to  language 
is  cleaiiy  grasped,  this  exaggeration  of  their  importance 
will,  no  doubt,  cease. 

In  writing,  as  in  reading,  the  senior  school  has  only  to 
build  on  the  foundation  Avhich    the   infant 
TeacMnff  school  has  laid.     Writing  is  a  manual  art 

and,  like  all  such  arts,  is  acquired  through 
practice  guided  by  imitation  with  instructive  criticism. 
Progress  should  be  looked  for  in  increasing  correctness  and 
facility  of  performance,  with  increasing  automatism  of 
pi'ocess.  As  in  all  other  manual  arts,  simplicity  and 
clearness  of  model,  gradation  of  difficulties,  concentration 
of  effort  in  imitation,  and  frequent  short  periods  of 
practice  are  the  essential  conditions  of  rapid  acquirement. 
Throughout,  the  nature  of  the  end  aimed  at  should  be  kept 
in  mind — the  poAver  of  legible,  rapid,  and  mechanically 
automatic  writing ;  and  this  should  be  gradually,  but 
continuously,  approximated. 

The  model  should,  especially  with  beginners,  be  set  on 
the    blackboard,  for   the  children  can  then 
Modds  imitate    both    the    result    and    the   process 

by  which  it  is  reached,  and  the  teacher  can 
draw  attention  to  the  steps  of  the  latter  in  some  interesting 
chat  as  he  goes  along.  The  children  should  write  on  paper 
with  lead  pencils,  which  are  easier  to  manage  than  pen 


16G  THK    TEACHING    OF    ENQLISn  : 

and  inlc,  and  preferable  in  every  way  to  slates  and  slate 
pencils.       Care   should    be   taken   that   the 

Peicif^  ^^^        P®^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^'^  ^^'^^^'  ^^^^  ^^  "^"''^*^  ^^®  remem- 
bered that  this  new  position  of  the  hand  is 

felt  to  1)0  very  cramping  by  little  children,  so  it  should  at 
first  be  re<[iured  for  only  a  very  brief  time.  After  two  or 
tln-ee  minutes  the  hand  should  be  I'ested  whilst  tlie  teacher 
attain  Avrites  on  the  blackboard,  and  the  whole  exercise 
should  not  last  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the 
lowest  classes.  With  practice  the  hand  becomes  more  and 
more  accustomed  to  the  new  position,  which  is,  moreover, 
adopted  more  perfectly,  and  so  the  length  of  the  lessons 
mav  be  somewhat  increased. 

Much  care  shoidd  be  taken  from  the  first,  and  through- 
out the  lessons,  that  the  children  sit  in 
Position  of  ^  healthy  position- — square  on  their  seats, 
with  backs  upright  and  straight,  feet  firmly 
planted  on  the  floor,  forearms  resting  on  the  desk.  No 
twisting  to  right  or  left,  or  bending  over  the  desk  should 
be  permitted.  That  the  writing  should  harmonise  with 
this,  the  only  healthy  condition,  it  should  be  upright  or 
very  nearly  so.  Such  writing  has,  moreover,  the  advantage 
of  greatest  legibility. 

The  writing  should  at  first  be  guided  in  size  and  imi- 
formity  by  two  parallel  horizontal  lines,  but 
■  no  further  guiding  lines  should  be  supplied. 
To  give  too  much  mechanical  help  at  first  may  conduce  to 
better  letters  being  produced  at  the  moment,  Init  hinders 
and  delays  the  acquirement  of  the  art  of  free  writing.  The 
size  should  be  medium :  neither  too  large,  for  the  hands 
which  are  to  produce  it  are  small ;  nor  too  small,  for  the 
muscular  co-ordinations  in  those  hands  are  as  yet  too 
imperfectly  formed,  and  the  eyes  are  too  imperfectly 
trained,  to   make   very   fine   work   of   any  kind  suital)le. 


COMPOSITION    AND    GKAMMAU.  167 

Lines  a  quarter  of  au  inch  apart  will  give  writing  of  about 

the  right  size. 

In  all  acquirement  of  mechanical  skill  it  is  important 

that  the  same  series  of  movements  be  always 

LetSrf*''^  **^     repeated  to  secure  any  one  result.    It  follows 

that  the  same  formation  of  letters  should  be 

used  throughout,  and  that  the  formation  should  be  chosen 

which  best  leads  to  the  rapid  legibility  the  wi'iting  shoxild 

ultimately  possess.    Simplicity  of  form  and  ease  of  junction 

with  other  letters  should  be  the  characteristics  from  the  first. 

Analysis  of  letters  into  simpler  elements  of  form  may  be 

appealed  to  in  the  correction  of  errors.     But 

Analysis  of        such  analysis  should  not  be  the  foundation 

Letters.  on  which  the  writing  is  built  up.     For  the 

muscular  co-ordinations  of  actual  wi'iting  are 

not  practised  when  the  elements  are  made  separately,  and 

the  making  of   immeaning   shapes  is  of  deadly  dulness, 

and   hence   antagonistic    to    that  concentration  of  effort 

which  is  an  essential  condition  of  success. 

Capitals   should   1)e   introduced   as    soon  as  the  small 

letters  can  be  made  from  memory.     From  the  beginning 

stops  should  be  included  as  an  integral  part  of  the  writing. 

Careful    individual    correction    of    faults    is    essential 

throughout,     but     such    correction    should 

Co^ection         never  be  in   such  a   form  as  to   discourage 
of  Faults.  = 

effort,  and  should  never  refer  to  more  than 

one  fault  at  once.     Praise  should  be  awarded  in  proportion 

to  effort  rather  than  to  result,  for  it  must  be  remembered 

that   some  children  are  naturally  more   deft   with   their 

fingers  than  are  others. 

As   soon   as   the   children  can  form   the   letters   from 

memory  short   exercises   in    exact    copying? 

Transcription.  •'  .  i       i^ 

ot  passages  from   the   printed  page  should 

enter  into  their  writing  lessons.     That  by  such  exercises 


168  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENQLISII  : 

spelling  is  also  learned  is  no  disadvantage.  The  teacher's 
corrections  must  deal  Avith  all  errors  of  transcription, 
whether  of  spelling  or  of  stops,  but  those  relating  to  the 
writing  itself  should  still  keep  to  one  fault  at  a  time, 
though  that  will  be  of  a  more  general  nature,  such  as 
want  of  uniformity  of  spacing,  than  in  the  earlier  writing 
lessons. 

When  the  pupils  can  write  readily  with  lead  pencils, 

they  should  begin  to  use  pen  and  ink.  This 
Use  of  introduces  a  new  and   very  real   difficulty, 

and  the  exercises  set  should,  therefore,  be 
such  as  the  children  can  already  do  well  with  the  pencil. 
When  the  children  have  reached  the  stage  in  which  they 

can  handle  the  pen  with  ease,  the  detailed 

Use  of  Copy-  iusti-uctiou  in  the  forms  of  letters  should  no 
Books. 

longer  be  generally  necessary,  though  an  ex- 
ceptional need  may  arise  which  requires  to  be  dealt  with  on 
the  blackboard.  The  chief  aim  now  should  be  to  increase 
rapidity  without  sacrificing  legibility  or  beauty  of  f(^rm. 

Here  many  teachers  find  engraved  copy-books  of  value, 
though  the  objections  to  one  engraved  head  line  which  the 
children  copy  over  and  over  again  down  a  page  are  obvious 
and  serious.  A  really  satisfactory  copy-book  gives  an  en- 
graved model  on  every  alternate  line  in  the  earlier  stages, 
and  one  which  fills  every  alternate  page  in  the  later.  But 
with  children  who  have  advanced  to  the  level  of  which  we 
are  now  speaking,  the  use  of  copy-books,  or  of  any  other 
lesson  dealing  solely  with  the  mechanical  aspect  of  writing, 
should  become  less  and  less  frequent,  and  the  use  of  writing 
in  connection  with  the  copying  of  passages  from  books  and 
with  the  direct  expression  of  thought  should  more  and 
more  take  its  place.  Copy-books  are  an  intermediate  stage 
whose  object  is  to  cultivate  continuity  and  freedom  of 
]jeumauship  by  giving  models  for  direct  imitation  whicji 


COMPOSITION    AND    GRAMMAR.  169 

are  immediately  under  tlie  eye.  Thus,  instruction  is  bolter 
given  from  the  blackboard  when  process  is  to  be  imitated 
as  well  as  results,  and  from  engraved  copy-books,  where 
model  and  imitation  are  very  close  together,  when  only 
result  is  to  be  imitated. 

As  soon  as  the  pupils  can  write  with  ease,  regularity,  and 

correctness  of  form,  lessons  on  the  form  of 
Real  Writhiff      writing  have  served  their  turn,  and  should  be 

discontinued,  though  an  occasional  one  now 
and  then  to  correct  some  faulty  tendency  may  l)e  needed. 
Writing  by  this  time  should  form  so  constant  a  part  of 
the  majority  of  lessons  that  an  insistence  on  neatness  and 
cai'e  will  do  all  that  is  necessary.  Much  valuable  time 
which  is  now  commonly  given  to  mechanical  writing 
will  thus  be  saved  in  the  upper  classes,  and,  moreover, 
the  teaching  of  writing  will  itself  more  perfectly  attain 
its  true  object,  as  the  pupils  will  appreciate  more  fully  the 
part  which  writing  really  should  play  in  their  lives. 

One  other  point   only  will    we    make.     As  the  double 

guiding  lines  should  give  place  to  the  single 
Rapid  Writing  ij^g  j^g  gQ^^  ^^  possible,  so  the  single  line 
without  Lines.    ■.■,-.■,.     ^.  '  ,    „*=" 

itselt     should    disappear     long    before    the 

children  leave  school.  No  doubt,  at  first  the  regularity  of 
the  product  will  suffer,  but  that  is  a  necessary  stage  in  the 
attainment  of  the  power  to  write  without  lines.  Nor  will 
the  irregularity  be  excessive  if  the  pupils  are  not  only 
allowed  but  encouraged  to  wi-ite  as  rapidly  as  they  can 
consistently  with  writing  well.  The  ideas  that  speed  will 
come  mthout  training  and  that  goodness  of  writing  is  in 
inverse  proportion  to  speed  are  both  wrong,  for  each  disre- 
gards the  characteristics  of  habit  formation. 

As  the  habit  of  any  movement — for  example,  bicvcle 
riding — is  acquired,  the  natiu'al  result  of  practice  is  to 
increase    speed,    and   soon    the    stage    is    reached    when 


170  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

limitation  of  speed  actually  decreases  the  perfection  of 
the  result.  But  if  sIoav  performance  is  continually  per- 
sisted in,  that  also  becomes  habitual,  and  then  the  result 
is  to  render  an  increase  of  speed  difficult.  Now  in 
teaching  writing  in  school  the  first  of  these  two  stages 
is  often  ignored;  the  children  are  prohibited  from 
writing  at  the  quickest  rate  of  good  writing  natural  to 
them,  and  so  they  fall  into  the  second  stage,  in  which  they 
find  speed  and  goodness  increasingly  difficult  to  combine. 
Hence,  the  striking  diiference  frequently  found  between 
copy-book  writing  and  free  writing  and  the  equally  strik- 
ing deterioration  of  writing  after  school  days  are  over  with 
which  we  are  all  familiar  are  seen  to  originate  in  the 
mistaken  notion  that  in  writing  development  of  speed  is 
inconsistent  with  improvement  in  style. 
3.    Of    the   equally   instiaimental,    and   nearly    equally 

„    ,,.  mechanical,   art   of   spelling  little  need   be 

Spelling.  ^         ° 

said.  When  once  it  is  recognised  that  spell- 
ing is  nothing  more  than  memory  drawing  of  the  pictures 
of  words,  and  is  never  required  except  when  we  want  to 
write,  it  must  be  granted  that  it  will  be  learnt  primarily 
through  practice  in  the  correct  drawing  of  words,  and  that 
it  is  only  necessary  to  be  able  to  spell  the  words  we  need 
to  write. 

Practice  in  the  correct  writing  of  a  word  is,  first,  through 

direct  imitation  till  the  habit  is  formed ; 
Method  of  secondly,  through  reproduction  by  memory ; 

and  the  end  is  secured  when  the  result  is 
produced  automatically.  Spelling  is  not  directly  learnt 
through  rules  at  all,  though  rules  'discovered  by  com- 
parison of  different  words  may  be  applied  to  the  criticism 
of  faulty  results,  and  hence,  l)y  concentrating  attention  on 
the  form,  aid  its  rapid  acquirement.  But  the  spelling 
memorv  is  essentially  a  motor  momorv,  and  resides,  so  to 


COMPOSITION    AND    fl  RAM  MAR,  171 

saj,  in  tlie  fingers  ratlier  tlian  in  the  mind.  To  the  extent 
to  which  one  has  to  think  how  to  spell  Avords  it  is  oljvious 
that  one  is  hindered  in  the  expression  of  tliouglit  by  writ- 
ing, for  the  attention  is  withdrawn  from  the  thought  to 
the  mere  niechanism  of  expression. 

Bearing  these  principles  in  mind,  tlie  general  method  by 

.  which  the  child  is  led  to  acquire  spellin?-  is 

Transcription.       ,   .         mi     ^^     j  •  -i,  ,  „      -, 

plain,     'ihe  iirst  exercises  will  be  confined  to 

the  careful  examination  of  the  forms  of  words  in  a  short 
sentence  and  the  subsequent  copying  of  tliem  with  perfect 
accuracy,  attention  being  fixed  in  turn  on  each  letter. 
The  same  words  should  be  copied  over  and  over  again, 
and  always  in  connection  with  the  reading.  The  foi-ms  of 
written  words  are  not  in  themselves  attractive  or  striking. 
They,  therefore,  sink  into  the  mind  very  slowly  and  only 
after  much  practice.  The  attainment  of  spelling  power 
may  easily  be  hindered  by  too  great  variety  in  the  words 
first  practised.  If  a  child  learns  to  spell  one  word  a  dav 
on  the  average  he  will,  if  those  Avords  have  been  properly 
selected,  have  mastered  the  written  form  of  practically  the 
whole  of  his  vocabidary  in  the  first  two  years  after  he 
begins  to  read  and  wi-ite.  What  he  writes  he  spells,  and 
he  writes  nothing  he  has  not  already  read. 

Reproduction  of  form  by  memory  presupposes  the  power 
_.  to  produce  the  form  with  accuracy  by  direct 

imitation.  Hence  dictation  should  not  be 
begun  lill  a  considerable  amount  of  transcription  has  l^een 
done,  and  then  should  l)e  confined  to  words  and  sentences 
which  the  children  have  frequently  written  from  a  copy. 
In  all  formation  of  habit  it  is  important  that  the  act  should 
always  be  done  rightly,  so  it  is  better  to  tell  the  children 
to  leave  a  blank  for  words  they  cannot  spell  than  to 
encourage  them  to  guess  at  the  form.  Even  after  dicta- 
tion is  introduced  it  should  be  but  an  occasional  exercise. 


172  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

It  is  not  a  direct  means  of  teaching  spelling,  tliougli  by 
concentrating  effort  on  the  correct  reproduction  l>y  memory 
of  forms  of  words  it  helps  indirectly,  and  it  also  makes 
manifest  hoth  to  pnpil  and  teacher  what  forms  need  further 
practice. 

Wlien  the  children  know  the  names  of  the  letters  they  may 

be  encouraged  to  say  them  silently  as  they 

form  the  letters  of  "new  Avords  as  a  help  to 
concentrating  their  attention  upon  tliem,  and  so  making 
the  recognition  of  the  elements  of  foitn  explicit.  Some 
children,  too,  rememlier  more  l)y  associations  of  sound  or 
of  silent  speech  than  by  those  of  movement  or  of  sight, 
and  these  are  directly  helped  by  such  silent  spelling. 
But  to  set  children  to  spell  orally  and  simultaneously  a 
set  of  Avords  they  are  not  writing  is  very  largely  a  waste 
of  time.  We  do  not  acquire  manual  skill  by  describing 
the  needful  acts,  but  by  doing  them. 

What  is  ca]le<l  '  word  building '  is  an  attempt  to  l)ase 

spelling  on  conscious  logical  processes.  JSToAV 
■IR  ^id"      '         ^*^  think  of  the  mechanism  of  an  act  when 

doing  it  is  to  prevent  it  from  lieing  well 
done.  Let  any  doubter  try  the  experiment  when  riding  a 
bicycle  or  playing  a  piano.  The  mistake  lies  in  regarding 
spelling  as  an  end  in  itself  and  not  as  a  mere  instrument 
whose  use  is  perfectly  attained  only  so  far  as  it  has  become 
automatic.  There  are,  indeed,  some  few  rules  of  spelling 
which  the  older  children  may  gather  from  a  comparison  of 
instances,  and  these  rules  they  may  apply  consciously  when 
they  want  to  write  a  word  of  whose  form  they  ai'e  not  sure, 
or  when  they  examine  critically  the  form  of  a  word  they 
have  written.  But  the  more  these  rules  operate  uncon- 
sciously the  more  perfectly  they  play  their  part.  Hence, 
to  keep  the  attention  of  the  class  fixed  upon  them  too 
long  is  a  mistake.     It  hinders  the  development  of    that 


COMPOSITION    AND    GRAMMAR.  173 

automatisiu  wliii'li  the  ieachiiig  of  spellii)<^  .sliuiild  ;i.iiii  at 
training. 

The  lialjit  oii  regarding  spelling  as  an  end  in  itself  has 
led  to  much  time  bemg  spent  over  it — as 
Diaionary.  ^^*^^'  mechanical  writing — which  could  be 
much  more  profitably  employed.  Reading 
books  have,  indeed,  frequently  been  written  with  the  nuiin 
object  of  presenting  vocabularies  of  increasing  difficulty  to 
spell.  AVhy  anybody  should  think  it  desirable  to  teach  a 
child  to  spell  a  word  he  will  never  need  to  write  is  incon- 
ceivable. Formal  exercises  in  spelling  shoidd  cease  about 
the  same  time  as  those  in  writing,  and  the  children  should 
be  trained  to  use  a  small  dictionary  to  supply  the  spelling 
of  any  word  they  wish  to  use  in  writing  and  about  the  form 
of  which  they  are  doubtful.  To  secure  accuracy  of  form  at 
first  in  this  way  is  much  better  than  to  trust  to  correction 
of  wrongly  written  forms.  Habituation  in  the  use  of  a 
dictionaiy  has  other  and  obvious  advantages  in  making 
the  meaning  of  words  more  explicit,  and  so  in  keeping 
spelling  in  touch  with  the  expression  of  real  thought. 
Correction  of  wrong  spelling  shoidd  be  insisted  on  in  every 
piece  of  writing ;  but  to  set  pupils  to  write  for  the  mere 
sake  of  spelling  is  to  reverse  the  relations  of  the  two  arts 
and  to  ignore  the  true  province  of  each. 

4.  Passing  by  these  "  base  mechanic  arts  "  we  must  now 

consider  how  children  may  best  be  helped  to 
Function  of  „      •      xi  ,.  .        .     ,     ^ 

Composition,      '^-cq^iire  the  power  of  expression  m  language. 

The  mistake  most  commonly  made  is  to  teach 

'  composition '  as  a  matter  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  of  form. 

This  can  do  nothing  but  cultivate  that  use  of  language  to 

conceal  the  absence  of  thought  which    so   many   of   our 

public  men  appear  to  have  carried  to  a  fine  ai-t.     The  rule 

should  be  :  "  Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 

speaketh,"  and  the  fundamental  excellencies  of  good  speech. 


174  THE   TEACHING    OP    ENGLISH  : 

whether  spoken  or  written,  are  tersely  suiniiied  up  iu  the 
advice  ou  preaching  once  given  by  a  bishop  to  candidates 
for  ordination :  "  Have  something  to  say ;  say  it ;  leave 
off."  Unhappily  many  public  orators  regard  the  first  clavise 
as  superfluous,  and  the  last  as  inapplicable. 

The  whole  matter  is  admirably  put  by  Mr.  John 
Morley:  "I  will  even  venture,  with  all  respect  to  those 
who  are  teachers  of  literature,  to  doubt  the  excellence 
and  utility  of  the  practice  of  over-much  essay-Avriting 
and  composition.'  I  have  very  Uttle  faith  in  rules  of 
style,  though  I  have  an  unbounded  faith  in  the  virtue 
of  cultivating  direct  and  precise  expression.  Biit  you 
must  carry  on  the  operation  inside  the  mind,  and  not 
merely  by  practising  literary  deportment  on  paper.  It 
is  not  everybody  who  can  command  the  mighty  rhythm 
of  the  greatest  masters  of  human  speech.  But  every 
one  can  make  reasonably  sure  that  he  knows  what 
he  means,  and  whether  he  has  found  the  right  word. 
These  are  internal  operations,  and  are  not  forwarded  by 
writing  for  writing's  sake.  Everybody  must  be  urgent 
for  attention  to  expression,  if  that  attention  be  exercised 
in  the  right  way.  It  has  been  said  a  million  times  that 
the  foundation  of  right  expression  in  speech  or  writing  is 
sincerity.  That  is  as  true  now  as  it  has  ever  been.  Right 
expression  is  a  part  of  character.  As  somebody  has  said, 
by  learning  to  speak  with  precision,  you  learn  to  think 
with  correctness ;  and  the  way  to  fimi  and  vigorous  speech 
lies  through  the  cultivation  of  high  and  noble  sentiments. 
So  far  as  my  observation  has  gone,  men  will  do  better 
if  they  seek  precision  by  studying  carefully  and  Avitli 
an  open  mind  and    a    vigilant   eye   the   great  models  of 

'  The  cuiitext  makes  it  evident  that  Mr.  Morley  means  by  'com- 
position '  exercises  in  tlie  mere  lorm  of  expression. 


COMPOSITION    AND   GRAMMAR.  175 

writiug,  than  by  excessive  j^ractice  of  writiug  ou  their  own 
account.'' ' 

5.  That  the  inutually  dependent  powers  of  clear  thinking 

„     ,  ,  and  precise  expression  do  not  come  by  nature 

Need  for  •         •^  n  i       ^i      i  ,         *; 

Specific  IS  evidenced  by  the  large  mmiber  of  people 

Training  in        who  never  attain  either,  and  all  who  have 

xpression.        studied  childi'en  know  how  they  are  addicted 

to  suggesting  or  hinting  at  their  meaning  rather  than  to 

expressing  themselves  fully  and  clearly.     The  school  shotJd, 

therefore,   cultivate   these   powers    always    in   connection 

with  each  other,  and  every  lesson  fui-nishes  opportunities 

for  doing  this.     For  expression  in  speech  of  what  is  in  the 

mind  is  not  an  occasional  fact  in   life,  but   a   constant 

activity.     Every   exercise   of   this,  as  of  other  activities, 

helps  to  form  a  habit  of  doing  it  well  or  ill.     Consequently, 

it  is  needfid  for  children  to  be  led  to  make  a  conscious 

effort  to  do  it  Avell,  and  to  avoid  the  errors  to  which  they 

are  prone.     This  is  the  justification  for  special  lessons  in 

the  use  of  language. 

6.  It  is  fm-ther  evident  that,  as  the  formation  of  good 

habits  should  be  begun  as  soon  as  possible 
teiT  Expression.  ^^^  ^^^  activity  becomes  conscious,  train- 
ing in  speech  should  be  given  even  before 
the  child  learns  to  read,  and  training  in  written  language  as 
soon  as  he  has  mastered  the  elements  of  the  mechanical  art 
of  writing.  Further,  that  training  in  both  oral  and  written 
expression  should  be  continiied  throughout  school  life. 
These  are  often  regarded  as  mere  duplicates  of  each  other. 
They  have,  however,  somewhat  different  functions,  ex- 
pressed with  epigrammatic  terseness  by  Bacon  when  he 
wrote  :  "  Reading  maketh  a  full  man ;  conference  a  ready 
man  J  and  wTiting  an  exact  man."^ 

1  Essay  on  The  Study  of  Liitruture. 
'  Essay  on  Studies. 


176  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  infant  school  readiness  of 
speech  is  the  chief  result  to  be  aimed  at,  and  that  cor- 
rections of  form  should  not  be  so  insistent  as  to  check 
the  freedom  of  the  child's  utterances.  And  always  in  oral 
expression,  copiousness,  general  arrangement  and  intelligi- 
bility are  of  more  importance  than  the  more  detailed 
niceties  of  choice  of  w  ord  and  phrase.  These  are  mainly 
dealt  with  in  written  work  or  in  oral  exercises  in  imme- 
diate connection  with  written  work.  In  the  oral  repro- 
duction of  what  has  been  heard  or  read,  or  description 
of  what  has  been  experienced,  then,  the  teacher  should 
incidentally  correct  grammatical  errors,  ambiguous  con- 
structions and  confused  arrangement,  but  should  not 
discuss  the  relative  claims  of  various  words  and  phrases. 
The  incidence  of  attention  should  be  on  the  matter,  and 
almost  any  form  should  be  accepted  which  conveys  a 
sufhcient,  clear  and  accurate  impression  of  that  matter  to 
the  minds  of  the  hearers. 

7.  The  special  lessons  in  language,  however,  put  the  inci- 
dence of  attention  on  the  form.     Hence,  the 
Special  ideas  to  be  expressed  should  be  such  as  are 

Language!  sufficiently  familiar  to  need  no  further  effort 

at  apprehension.  The  exercises  should  be 
graduated  primarily  on  the  basis  of  an  increasing  com- 
plexity in  the  matter  to  be  expressed.  Increased  complexity 
of  idea  demands  increased  complexity  of  expression,  but 
complexity  of  expression  without  corresponding  complexity 
of  idea  is  meaningless  and  artificial. 

With  the  youngest  children,   then,  the  ideas  to  be  ex- 
pressed should  be  very  simple,  such,  indeed, 
^^^  'as  can  be  adequately  expressed  in  a  single 

sentence.  Of  course  the  children  should  not  be  asked  to 
•  make  a  sentence,'  but  to  state  a  fact.  For  example,  the 
teacher  or  one  of  the  children  may  do  some  simple  action, 


COMPOSITION    AND    GRAMMAR.  177 

such  as  openiug  a  door  or  window  or  taking  up  a  book, 
and  tlie  children  may  be  asked  to  tell  what  has  been  done. 
They  I'eply  orally,  and  the  various  answers  are  examined 
critically  by  the  class  with  the  specific  aim  of  telling  the 
fact  in  the  plainest  and  neatest  way.  The  final  result  is 
written  on  the  blackboard  and  copied  by  the  children. 
After  a  httle  practice  the  children  may  sometimes  be 
allowed  to  write  such  simple  statements  without  the  pre- 
liminary oral  discussion.  In  this  manner  the  most  common 
forms  of  sentence  construction  become  familiar,  and  the 
beginning  is  made  of  a  habit  of  critical  selection  of 
words. 

Soon  the  children  advance  beyond  single  sentences  to 
their  combination  in  a  paragraph.     Indeed, 
Paragraph  ^^  ^^  better  to  regard  the  paragraph  as  the 

unit  of  composition  throiighout,  and  the 
earliest  exercises  as  single  sentence  paragraphs.  The  first 
step  may  be  to  take  a  familiar  object  or  simple  picture, 
and  ask  the  children  to  answer  questions  about  it.  These 
qiiestions  should  be  carefully  prepared  so  that  their  com- 
bined answers  give  a  methodical  account  of  the  object. 
Each  answer  is  given  in  a  sentence  which  is  discussed  as 
before,  and  the  final  form  written  on  the  board,  of  course 
with  the  proper  stops.  The  whole  is  now  examined,  and 
by  reading  it  aloud  the  children  will  perceive  that  it  is 
jerky  in  form,  owing  to  the  independent  origin  of  each 
sentence.  They  may  then  be  led  to  modify  this  by  the 
substitution  of  relative  for  absolute  words  and  the  inser- 
tion of  connective  words.  This  must  not  be  carried 
too  far  at  first,  or  the  opposite  result  of  a  long,  rambling 
discourse  with  its  elements  connected  every^vhere  by  '  and ' 
may  result.  In  a  similar  way,  accounts  of  simple  school 
events  with  which  all  are  acquainted  may  be  worked  out 
and  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  letter.     Eeproductions  of 

PR.  TG.  12 


178  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH: 

parts  of  lessons  may  be  similarly  dealt  with  aud  will 
furnish  abundance  of  varied  material. 

In  the  earlier  exercises  the  questions  should  be  given 
orally,  and  each  should  be  answerable  in  one  simple 
sentence.  As  the  pupils'  power  increases  the  questions 
will  become  wider,  so  as  to  demand  more  and  more  effort 
and  skill  in  constructing  the  answers,  aud  may  well  be 
written  on  the  blackboard,  so  as  to  be  on  view  while  these 
more  complex  answers  are  being  discussed.  In  the  dis- 
cussions the  aim  should  be  to  lead  the  children  beyond  the 
mere  vague  feeling  that  one  construction,  expression,  or 
Avord  is  better  than  another — though  that  will  be  the 
starting-point — to  seeing  a  reason  why  it  is  so.  For  it 
must  be  remembered  that  speech,  though  often  guided 
by  emotion  and  feeling,  is  essentially  an  intellectual 
art.  Some  knowledge  of  grammatical  analysis  will  be 
found  very  helpful  in  the  criticism.  As  skill  is  attained 
exercises  in  which  the  pupils  write  answers  to  questions 
written  on  the  blackboard  without  the  oral  discussion, 
and  in  which,  consequently,  each  individual  freely  works 
out  his  own  thoughts,  will  become  more  frequent. 

A  higher  stage  is  reached  when,  without  such  definite 
questions,  an  outline  is  drawn  out  in  conver- 
Outline^^  sation,  written  on  the  blackboard  and  used  as 

a  guide  to  the  composition.  Here  the  pupils 
are  first  called  upon  to  apply  the  results  of  the  imitation 
of  arrangement  of  ideas  which  has  been  implicit  in  the 
preceding  exercises  to  making  such  an  arrangement  for 
themselves.  The  first  exercises  of  this  kind  may  appro- 
priately be  the  reprodviction  of  a  story  told  or  read,  or  a 
part  of  a  recent  oral  lesson,  when  the  required  arrange- 
ment is  in  its  main  outlines  a  matter  of  intelligent 
memory.  Of  course,  the  reproduction  should  not  imme- 
diately folloAv  the  reception,  especially  in  the  case  of  a 


COMPOSITION    AND    GKAMMAB.  179 

Ktory,  or  mere  mechanical  memory  is  likely  to  play  too 
large  a  part. 

The  drawing  up  of  outlines  by  the  co-operative  efforts  of 
the  class  should  be  continued  in  all  subjects  in  which  the 
result  to  be  attained  is  a  logical  arrangement  of  matter 
known  in  common  by  the  pupils,  until  every  pvipil  has  an 
insight  into  the  principles  on  which  such  arrangements  are 
based.  But  gradually  the  blackboard  outline  will  grow 
shorter  and  more  general,  and  will  be  completed  by  the 
pupils  individually.  At  last  the  time  is  reached  when 
each  pupil  can  draw  uj)  his  own  outline  for  liimseK.  The 
attainment  of  this  power  is,  of  course,  much  facilitated 
when  teaching  with  text-books  largely  talces  the  place  of 
oral  lessons.  For  in  his  text-book  the  young  student 
has  his  matter,  and  in  the  general  questions  to  which 
his  teacher  has  set  him  to  find  answers  he  has  the  general 
form  to  which  that  matter  has  to  be  adjusted.  So  he 
learns  to  write  brief  synopses  of  the  chapters  from  A-arious 
points  of  view.  Of  course,  he  has  the  book  before  him  to 
refer  to  when  writing  his  summaries,  and  in  that  way  is 
acquiring  the  power  of  really  using  books  as  means  to  attain 
his  own  purposes.^ 

80  far  we  have  confined  ourselves  to  matter  in  which 

arrangement  of  ideas  may  be  made  in 
Jma^natfvr^  common.  But  side  by  side  with  such  exer- 
Exercises.  cises  there  should  also  be  others  to  which 

such  common  work  would  be  fatal,  as 
they  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  the  children,  and  all 
imagination  must  be  individual.  These  may  be  intro- 
duced when  the  children  are  about  nine  or  ten  years  old, 
for  by  that  time  they  should  be  able  to  write  a  page  of 
intelligent  and  fairly  well  expressed  Enghsh. 

Simple  forms  of  exercises  of  this  kind  are  asking  the 
>  Cf.  pp  82-4. 


180  THE    TKACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

childi'en  to  finish  a  story  of  which  the  first  part  has  been 
read  to  them ;  to  write  a  story  analogous  to  one  told  them  ; 
to  write  a  story  which  would  be  illustrated  by  a  simple 
picture ;  to  write  a  story  suggested  by  a  few  bald  state- 
ments, or  even  by  single  words,  as,  for  example,  boy,  man, 
dog,  bull,  field,  river ;  to  vv^rite  a  letter  describing  an 
imaginary  incident.  It  should  be  remembered,  however, 
that  imagination  grows  out  of  imitation,  and  is  guided  by 
knowledge.  There  is  no  value  in  letting  the  children 
simply  produce  the  riotings  of  untrammelled  fancy. 
Hence,  some  inner  consistency  should  be  looked  for  in  all 
imaginative  productions. 

8.  A  course  on  the  lines  which  have  just  been  broadly 

sketched  should  succeed  in  keeping  expres- 
Influence  of  ^[q-^  united  with  thought,  in  securing  some 
Expression.        power  of  arrangement  of  thought,  and  some 

facility  in  lucid  expression.  However,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  speech,  spoken  and  written,  is  largely 
a  matter  of  imitation,  and  that  the  results  attained  wiU, 
therefore,  be  in  direct  relation  to  the  value  of  the  models  set 
before  the  pupils  in  the  books  they  read  and  in  the  teacher's 
speech.  Such  detailed  examination  of  pieces  of  literature 
as  was  described  in  a  previous  chapter'  will  have  a  very 
real,  if  not  immediately  apparent,  influence  on  the  forma- 
tion of  style ;  for  many  lessons  will  incidentally  be  learned 
as  to  constiniction,  use  of  words,  employment  of  ilhxstra- 
tion,  and  harmony  of  general  effect. 

9.  A  few  words  miist  be  said  on  the  teacher's  examination 

of  the  written  exercises.  In  a  large  class  this 
Correction  of  jg  obviously  a  matter  of  practical  difiiculty, 
Composition.      J^t  unless  it  is  done  effectually  improvement 

is  hindered.  The  short  exercises  of  the 
youngest  classes  present  no  difficulty.  They  can  generally 
1  See  pp.  lol-9. 


COMPOSITION    AND    GRAMMAR.  181 

be  examiued  as  tlie  teacher  walks  round  his  class  Avhile 
the  children  are  writing,  or  immediately  they  have  finished. 
But  as  the  exercises  become  longer  they  cannot  be  so 
marked.  It  is  obvious  that  no  examination  will  he  satis- 
factory except  that  of  the  teacher.  Time  can  generally  be 
found  for  it  whilst  the  pupils  are  engaged  in  silent  read- 
ing, so  that  but  little  will  usually  be  left  to  be  done  out  of 
school  hours.  In  no  case  would  a  teacher  be  justified  in 
exhausting  his  vitality  by  giving  too  much  of  his  spare  time 
to  this  marking.  It  is  better  to  mark  thoroughly  half  the 
class  in  one  exercise  and  the  other  half  in  the  next  than  to 
mark  the  whole  each  time  in  a  perfunctory  manner.  But 
exercises  in  which  the  composition  has  been  first  done 
orally,  or  those  in  which  the  outline  has  been  worked  out 
by  the  whole  class,  take  little  time  to  read  and  mark,  and 
long  exercises  in  which  this  has  not  been  done  will  only 
become  frequent  as  the  pupils  get  that  power  of  expx-ession 
which  makes  serious  faults  infrequent. 

Much  time  is  saved  if  the  teacher  and  class  have  a 
recognised  system  of  signs.  An  underlined  word  may 
mean  a  mistake  in  spelling,  a  (7  in  the  margin  a  fault  in 
construction,  a  (?  a  piece  of  bad  gi'ammar,  and  so  on.  The 
teacher  then  only  writes  these  signs  and  returns  the 
exercises  to  the  pupils,  who,  in  the  next  language  lesson, 
set  to  work  to  correct  them,  the  teacher  passing  round  and 
helping  where  he  finds  need.  ISTo  careless  work  should  ever 
be  examined  at  all,  but  the  ofl:ender  should  be  set  to  do 
it  again.  Children  can  soon  be  brought  to  understand  that 
the  school  calls  for  careful  effort,  and  will  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  less.  If  any  one  kind  of  error  is  common 
in  a  set  of  exercises  the  teacher  will  do  well  to  discuss 
it  orally  with  the  whole  class. 

10.  There  remains  to  decide  the  place  which  study 
of   English   grammar  should  hold  in  the  primary  school. 


182  THE    TEACHING    OP    ENGLISH  : 

The  subject  has  become  generally  impopiilar  with  both 
teachers  aud  scholars,  aud  is  banished  from 
Grammar  °  ^^^®  curriculum  of  many  schools.  Aud  if 
by  grammar  is  meant  the  mass  of  verbal 
subtleties  and  logical  inconsistencies  which  have  too  often 
passed  under  the  name,  its  disappearance  is  in  every  way  a 
gain.  Nevertheless,  there  is  not  only  use,  but  need,  for 
a  grammar  which  aims  at  making  explicit  the  structure 
of  the  speech  in  which  our  thoughts  must  be  expressed. 
Such  a  grammar  is  subordinate  and  instrumental.  It 
enables  the  pupils  to  criticise  intelligently  the  construction 
of  sentences,  to  separate  them  into  their  constituent 
elements,  and,  if  desirable,  to  rearrange  those  elements 
into  a  new  whole. 

The  most  common  mistake  in  the  teaching  of  grammar 
has  been  the  overloading  it  with  distinctions  derived  from 
highly  inflectional  languages,  but  largely  inapplicable  to  an 
analytic  language  like  English.  In  such  a  language  it  is 
not  the  forms  but  the  functions  of  words  to  which  attention 
should  be  directed.  For  all  meaning  is  expressed  in  con- 
tinuous speech,  and  the  constitutent  parts  of  such  speech, 
whether  sentences  or  clauses  or  phrases  or  words,  get  their 
full  force  and  meaning  only  in  relation  to  the  whole.  Of 
any  constituent  piece  of  discourse  the  important  gram- 
matical question  then  is :  What  is  its  relation  to  the  other 
constitaients  and  to  the  whole  ? 

It  follows  that  the  grammatical  examination  of  language 
which  should  find  a  place  in  school  is  never  merely  verbal. 
It  is  always  an  inquiry  into  meaning  and  into  the 
adequacy  with  which  meaning  is  expressed.  When  thus 
regarded  it  is  seen  to  be  often  helpful,  and  at  times  need- 
ful. For  the  great  weakness  of  an  analytic  language,  as  a 
means  of  expressing  thoiight,  is  its  liability  to  ambiguity 
of  construction.     No  language  offers  more  pitfalls  of  tliis 


COMPOSITION    AND    GRAMMAR.  183 

kind  for  the  unwary  than  English,  and,  it  may  be  added, 
in  none  is  more  frequent  advantage  taken  of  them. 

The  function  of  school  grammar  is,  then,  to  help  the 
pupils  to  get  a  clear  and  distinct  apprehension  of  thought 
when  it  is  obscurely  expressed,  to  see  the  origin  of  the 
obscurity,  and,  as  a  consequence,  to  develop  power  to  avoid 
similar  weaknesses.  Of  course,  grammar  by  itself  will 
never  do  this,  but  when  it  is  kept  in  close  touch  with  the 
other  studies  in  English,  and  especially  with  composition, 
it  is  a  valuable  auxiliary. 

When  this  principle  is  grasped,  teachers  will  stop  the 
grammatical  analysis  at  the  point  where  it  ceases  to  help 
in  making  the  construction  of  sentences  clearer.  They 
will  thus  avoid  wandering  into  those  minute  verbal  dis- 
tinctions and  classifications,  the  application  of  which 
hinders  rather  than  helps  the  object  in  view.  It  is  not 
needful  to  be  alvvays  teaching  something  new.  Like 
arithmetic,  the  value  and  function  of  grammar  are  mainly 
found  in  practical  applications  of  a  comparatively  few 
general  ideas. 

Again,  it  should  be  remembered  that  grammatical 
analysis  is  a  severely  intellectual  act,  and  is  therefore,  in 
itself,  opposed  to  the  emotional  influence  of  literatvire.  It 
should  not,  therefore,  be  applied  to  passages  whose  effect 
we  desire  to  be  mainly  emotional  or  aesthetic.  Indeed, 
it  is  only  occasionally  that  the  appreciation  of  a  sentence  in 
real  literature  will  be  aided  by  analysis.  The  pupils  may 
learn  the  use  of  the  instrument  on  less  worthy  material, 
and,  when  they  are  proficient  in  it,  may  use  it  to  help  them 
both  in  understanding  involved  passages  in  their  reading 
and  in  criticising  their  own  productions.  But  to  analyse 
and  parse  a  sonnet  till  we  have  reduced  it  to  a  mere  mass 
of  logical  relations,  till,  indeed,  it  has  no  form  nor  beauty 
that  we  should  desire  it,  is  to  commit  an  outrage  both  on 


184  THE   TEACHING   OP    EKULISH. 

literature  and  on  the  children  avIio  are  called  upon  to  take 
part  in  the  process  of  dissection. 

11.  A  syllabus  of  grammar  suitable  to  a  primary 
school  would,  then,  be  arranged  on  the  basis 
Principles  of  of  increasing  differentiation  of  fxmction,  be- 
Teaching  ginning  with  the  most  important  relations, 

such  as  concord  of  nominative  and  verb,  and 
gradually  working  down  to  more  detailed  distinctions.  The 
teaching  will  always  be  oral,  and  inductive  in  character. 
From  examination  of  examples  the  pupils  will  be  led  to 
see  the  value  and  meaning  of  the  distinctions  made,  and  to 
formulate  general  statements  of  them. 

No  regular  course  in  historical  grammar  is  desirable,  but 
interest  may  frequently  be  added  to  lessons  in  literature, 
geography,  and  history  by  tracing  the  history  of  certain 
words  when  that  history  bears  upon  some  aspect  of  life  or 
custom. 

No  doubt,  some  teachers  will  teach  more  grammar  than 
others.  We  have  only  attempted  to  lay  down  the  broad 
principles  upon  which  the  teaching  should  be  based.  What 
may  be  regarded  as  a  minimum,  yet  sufficient,  course  will 
be  found  outlined  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH:    SUMMARY. 

1.  We  -will  now  gather  together  the  threads  of  our  dis- 
cussion of  the  teaching  of  Enghsh  by  sum- 
Prindples°  marising  the  principles  which  have  been 
operative  in  it  throughout.     They  are  : — 

(i)  That  all  the  studies  included  under  the  term  '  English ' 
should  form  an  organic  whole,  and  be  so  taught  as  to  aid 
and  illustrate  each  other. 

(ii)  That  the  main  purpose  in  teaching  children  to  read  is 
to  help  them  to  acquire  both  the  wish  and  the  power  to  read 
good  literature  after  they  leave  school :  to  this  the  elocu- 
tionary aspect  of  reading  is  subordinate. 

Con  sequently — 

(a)  Reading  in  silence,  followed  by  conversation  on  what 
lias  been  read,  should  form  an  integral  part  of  school  work 
in  all  classes  above  the  infant  school. 

(b)  The  contents  of  the  reading  books  is  of  prime  im- 
portance :  it  should  be  varied  and  interesting ;  imaginative 
and  humorous  ;  instructive  only  in  the  sense  of  organising 
thought  and  knowledge,  and  in  suggesting  lines  of  inquiry. 

(iii)  That  learning  by  heart  should  be  the  natural  out- 
come of  delight  excited  in  the  pupils  by  passages  which 
appeal  to   them,   and   should,   therefore,   be    a    constant 

feature  in  the  work. 

185 


186  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

Cousequentlv — 

It  is  a  iiiistalce  to  fix  a  number  of  lines  to  be  learnt  by 
each  cliild  iu  a  given  time.  Tins  tends  to  separate  recita- 
tion from  literature,  and  to  reduce  the  learning  by  heart 
to  a  mechanical  exercise  :  the  minimum,  after  being  pre- 
pared, is  repeated  till  the  children  get  thoroughly  weary 
of  it. 

(iv)  That  verbal  expression  passes  through  the  broad 
stages  of  reproduction,  imitation  with  variation,  and 
origination,  and  is  a  power  exercised  by  the  child  before 
he  comes  to  school. 

Conseqviently — 

(a)  Children  should  from  the  first  be  trained  in  expres- 
sion by  speech,  and  this  oral  work  should  be  continued 
throughout  the  school  course,  confined  mainly  to  reproduc- 
tive expression. 

(&)  In  written  composition  practice  should  be  given 
both  in  arranging  and  expressing  knowledge  and  in  giving 
form  to  original  and  imaginative  ideas. 

(c)  That  pieces  of  literature  should  be  examined  with 
respect  to  their  form,  so  that  there  may  be  conscious 
adaptive  imitation  of  good  models. 

(v)  That  spelling  is  merely  instrumental  to  writing,  and 
writing  to  the  expression  of  thought. 

Consequently — 

(a)  SpelUng  should  be  made  subordinate,  and  should  be 
taught  mainly  by  transcription  of  passages  expressing 
familiar  thoughts  in  familiar  words. 

(&)  Written  compositions  should  form  part  of  the 
regular  work  as  soon  as  the  mechanical  art  of  writing  has 
l)een  fairly  mastered,  and  the  chief  practice  in  writing  and 
spelling  should  thereafter  be  by  means  of  such  com- 
positions. 


SUMMART.  187 

(vi)  That  grammar  is  mainly  instrumental  in  the  work 
of  the  primary  school.  Its  functions  are  to  help  tlie  pupil 
to  disentangle  passages  which  are  obscure  and  confused  to 
him,  by  making  explicit  the  connections  of  thought,  and  to 
criticise  his  own  productions. 

Consequently — 

School  grammar  should  be  essentially  analytic,  and 
should  omit  all  elaborate  distinctions  of  'parsing' dis- 
tinctions often  adopted  from  Latin,  and  really  inapplicable 
to  a  language  in  which  inflections  arc  few. 

(vii)  That  from  one-foiu-th  to  one-third  of  the  school 
time  should  be  given  to  the  study  and  practice  of  Eno-lish. 

2.  We  will  end  by  illustrating  how  these  principles  may 

be   applied   in  the  drawing  out  an  outline 
Outline  Course    ^^,  c      t    i      £  •  ■,      -. 

of  Study.  course  of   study  for  a  prmiary   school.     It 

will  be  understood  that  the  work  of  each 

group  is  graded  and  merges  gradually  into  that  of  the 

group  above. 

I.  Lower  Classes  (ages  7-9;  First  and  Second  Years). 

(i)  Eeading   and    telling   of   suitable   stories    by    the 
teacher. 

(ii)  (a)  Eeading  aloud  from  books  containing  such 
matter  as  nursery  and  faiiy  stories.  The  books 
should  be  sufficiently  numerous  to  prevent  the 
lessons  being  learnt  by  heart  by  continual  re- 
reading. 
(h)  Eeading  silently  of  passages,  with  conversation 
following.  Additional  books  should  be  provided 
in  a  class  lending  library  which  the  children 
should  be  encoiu-aged  to  read  at  home. 

(iii)  The   reading   books   should  contain   simple    short 
verses  suitalile  for  young  children,  some  of  which 


188  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

should  be  learnt  by  lieai-t.     This  learning  should 
be  individual. 

(iv)  (a)  Answering  questions  on  matter  read,  and  on 
meanings  of  passages,  phrases,  and  words. 

(b)  Oral  reproduction  by  individual  children  of 
simple  stories  read  in  class  or  at  home,  either 
orally  or  silently,  or  told  or  read  by  the  teacher. 

(c)  Oral  reproduction  of  portions  of  lessons. 

(d)  Eelation  by  children  of  incidents  in  their  own 
experience. 

(e)  Talks  about  simple  pictures,  e.g.  those  in  the 
reading  books. 

(v)  (a)  Formal  writing  lessons  dealing  with  the  forma- 
tion of  letters,  both  small  and  capital,  figures, 
and  punctuation  marks. 

(h)  Transcription  of  written  and  printed  passages. 

(c)  Occasional  dictation  of  carefully  prepared 
passages  containing  no  words  whose  written 
form  is  not  familiar  to  the  children. 

(cZ)  Simple  written  compositions  based  on  answers 
to  questions,  and  discussed  orally  in  class  before 
being  written. 

II.  Intermediate    Clasi^es  (ages   9-11  ;    Third  and   Fourth 
Years). 

(i)  Reading  by  teacher  of  suitable  stories  and  passages 
both  in  prose  and  in  verse. 

(ii)  As  under  I.,  but  amount  of  silent  reading  con- 
tinually increasing.  One  of  the  reading  books 
should  be  historical. 

(iii)  Similar  to  I.,  but  longer  and  more  advanced 
passages  learnt. 


SUMMARY.  189 

(iv)  Similar  to  I.,  but  with  continually  increasing 
demands  as  to  fulness  and  arrangement  of  matter 
and  fitness  and  correctness  of  expression. 

(v)  (a)  More  advanced  than  I.,  and  decreasing  in 
amount  till  each  kind  of  exercise  disappears  as 
children  attain  proficiency. 
(b)  Written  compositions,  beginning  with  simple 
answers  to  questions,  extending  to  narratives  and 
descriptions,  gradually  increasing  in  length  and 
complexity.  The  writing  of  simple  letters  dealing 
with  children's  actual  experiences.  Such  exercises 
generally  to  be  preceded  by  oral  discussion  and 
the  dramng  out  of  an  outline.  Simple  and  brief 
imaginative  compositions,  such  as  the  invention 
of  a  short  story,  suggested  in  fairly  obvious  ways. 
N.B. — The     greatest     possible     variety    in 

written  composition  exercises  to  be  aimed  at. 

Some  such  work  to  be  done  daily. 

(vi)  Grammar. 

(a)  Division  of  all  sentences  into  subject  and  pre- 
dicate. 

(b)  Subdivision  of  logical  predicate  into  -verb, 
object,  and  adverbial  adjimct,  togethei'  with 
noun,  adjective,  and  pronoun. 

(c)  Tense,  person,  and  number  in  connection  with 
concord  of  nominative  and  verb ;  case. 

N.B. — 1.  At  this  stage  'adverb,'  'adjective,' 
'  noun '  will  be  used  indiscriminately  for  word, 
phrase,  or  clause  :  it  is  the  function  of  the 
elements  of  the  sentence  that  is  to  be  studied. 

N.B. — 2.  In  most  schools  it  would  be  inad- 
visable to  begin  this  work  before  the  Fourth 
Yeai-. 


190  THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH  : 

III.  Higher  Classes  {ages  11-14;  Fifth,  Sixth,  and  Seventh 
Years). 
(i)  Eeading  by  teacher  of  pieces  of  beautiful   litera- 
ture. 

(ii)  Reading  both  silently  and  aloud  from  books  con- 
taining stories,  passages  from  literature  of  de- 
scriptive, narrative  and  declamatory  character, 
essays  and  poetry.  One  at  least  of  the  books 
read  by  each  child  should  be  one  continuous 
story,  and  one  should  be  historical.  Others 
should  contain  varied  selections  of  different 
length,  but  all  of  literary  merit.  A  class  hbrary 
should  be  regarded  as  indispensable. 

(iii)  (a)  The  intensive  study  of  selected  passages  of 
prose  and  poetry,  and,  in  the  highest  class,  of  a 
play  of  Shakespeare.  Attention  to  points  of 
style,  meaning  and  interpretation  of  figurative 
language. 
(h)  Learning  by  heart,  and  recitation  of  passages  of 
poetry  and  prose.  Each  such  passage  to  fonn  an 
ai-tistic  whole,  but,  as  a  rule,  to  be  of  only  moderate 
length.  The  passages  should  be  varied  both  in 
matter  and  in  style.  The  learning  should  be 
individual  and  voluntary. 

(iv)  Similar  to  I.  and  II.,  but  with  continual  iuiprove- 

nieut  in  fulness  and  style, 
(v)  Written  compositions  similar  to  II.,  but  of  a 
more  advanced  character.  Especially  more  ad- 
vanced original  and  imaginative  compositions, 
such  as  the  completion  of  an  unfinished  story, 
the  composition  of  a  story  suggested  in  various 
ways,  letters  describing  imaginary  incidents, 
parodies      AVriting  of  synopses  of  matter  read. 


SUMMARY.  191 

Finding  answers   to   qiiestious   by  reference   to 

books  indicated  by  teacher. 
(vi)  Grammar. 

(a)  Distinction  of  word,  pliraso  and  clause,  together 

with  relative  pronoun  (now  first  distinguished  as 

a  class  apart),  conjunction  and  preposition. 
(6)  Application  of  (a)  to  analysis  of  comj)lex  and 

compound   sentences,  emphasis  being  placed  on 

relations  of  clauses. 
(c)  Cognate  words  and   their   formation  from,  or 

relation  in  form  to,  each  other. 
(^d)  Investigations  into   exact   definitions  of   some 

common   words   and    into   simple    examples    of 

reasoning.     These  exercises   to  be  done  Socrati- 

cally,  the  value  being  in  the  process  rather  than 

in  the  result. 

The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  : — 
On  Reading  Aloud  : 

Burrell :  Clear  Speaking  and  Good 

Reading        2/6  (Longmans). 

On  the  Teaching  of  English  : 

Carpenter,  Baker,  and  Scott :  The 
Teaching  of  English  in  the  Ele- 
mentary and  the  Secondary  School    6/-   (Longmans). 

Wilson:  Lingua  Materna     ...         ...     3/ti  (E.Arnold). 

Macpherson  :  Principles  and  Method 

in  the  Study  of  English  Literature     2/-    (Cambridge    Uni- 
versity Press). 

Hinsdale :    Teaching   tlie    Language 
Arts 4/6  (Appleton). 

Laurie :     Language    and    Linguistic 

Method  4/-  (Oliver  and  Boyd). 

Principal  of  St.  Mary's  Hall :  Class 

Teaching  of   English  Composition     2/-  (Longmans). 

Hartog:  The  Writing  of  English    ...     2/6  (Clarendon Press). 


192 


THE    TEACHING    OF    ENGLISH:    SUMMARY. 


Board  of  Education  :  Suggestions  for 
the  consideration  of  Teachers, 
pp.  28-39        

On  the  Selection  of  Matter : 
Stopford  Brooke  :  Primer  of  English 

Literature 
Dowden  :  Shakespeare  Primer 
Hazlitt :  Characters  of  Shakespeare's 

Plays  

Harrison  :  The  Choice  of  Books 
Morley  :     Studies     in    Literature — 

Essay   on    the    Study  of    Litera 

ture    

Vaughan :     English    Literary    Criti 

cism 


-/8  (Wyman  and  Son). 


I/-  (Macmillau). 

1/-  (Macmillan). 

1/-  (Dent). 

4/-  (Macmillan). 


4/-  (Macmillan). 
3/6  (Blaokie). 


CHAPTEK    IX. 


THE     TEACHING     OF      MUSIC.^ 

1.  Music  as  a  subject  of  instruction  occupies  a  soniewJiat 
Function  of  ^^"^*^1"®  position.  AVliile  many  of  the  subjects 
Music  Teaching.  ^^^  ^^^^  curricuhun  have  a  direct  and  practical 
bearing  on  the  everyday  business  of  life,  others 
are,  or  should  be,  mainly  or  entirely  a  source  of  pleasure, 
and  amongst  these  music  stands  in  the  first  rank.  The 
study  of  music,  indeed,  provides  valuable  incidental 
occasion  for  activities  which  are  more  directly  exercised 
in  other  studies  ;  but  it  is  most  essential  for  the  teacher 
to  remember  that  unless  music  be  regarded  rather  from 
the  point  of  view  of  relaxation  than  from  that  of  business- 
using  this  word  in  its  scholastic  sense— its  true  function 
will  be  abrogated. 

That  music  is  an  expression  of  emotion  is  one  of  the 
commonplaces  of  musical  philosophy.  It  comes  natural 
we  say,  for  children  to  smg,  and  in  so  far  as  the  teacher 
bases  his  instruction  on  the  principle  of  cultivating  this 
spontaneous  musical  experience  he  will  be  building°on  a 
foundation  which  will  l)ear  any  superstructure  that  further 
study  can  rear  upon  it.  If,  however,  the  teacher  proceeds 
on  the  assumption  that  his  main  concern  is  to  teach  the 
child  to  solve  various  rhythmic  conundrums  in  pitch  and 
rhythm,  thereby  treating  the  subject  from  the  standjx^int 

'By    R.    T.    White,    Mas. Doc. 
PJi.  TO.  193  |o 


194  THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC. 

of  an  exact  science,  the  child  will  regard  it  as  such,  and 
spontaneity — the  very  essence  of  music — ^vill  be  checked  at 
the  outset. 

Moreover,  one  cannot  altogether  disregard  the  fact  that 
with  a  child  who  is  naturally  musical — and  there  are  more 
of  these  in  the  world  than  is  commonly  supposed — the 
practice  of  the  art  will  occupy  a  large  share  of  his  attention 
after  his  school  days  are  over.  There  are  very  few  subjects 
of  study  of  which  this  can  be  said,  and  it  is  therefore  a 
matter  of  importance  to  consider  how  best  we  can  make 
our  school  music  lessons  a  stepping-stone  to  futui'e  ad- 
vancement in  the  art. 

There  is  another  consideration  to  be  urged  in  favour  of 
music,  and  one  which  has  great  weight  with  those  who 
realise  the  dangers  which  beset  young  people  when  first 
they  go  out  "  into  the  world."  A  youth  who  has  no  social 
accomplishment  feels  awkward  and  out  of  place  in  good 
society,  and  too  often  seeks  relaxation  in  directions  which 
do  not  lead  to  refinement  of  character.  But  if  he  has 
attained  to  some  degree  of  proficiency  in  either  vocal  or 
instrumental  music  he  is  siire  of  a  welcome  in  any  intel- 
lectual circle,  for  music  is  the  most  sociable  of  all  arts. 
Hence,  if  duiing  school  life  we  can  lay  a  good  foundation 
for  further  study  in  music,  and,  above  all,  inculcate  a  real 
liking  for  it,  we  shall  be  giving  our  children  an  equipment 
which  will  be  of  inestimable  ^alue  to  them  in  a  critical 
period  of  their  lives. 

2.  The  objects  of  the  study  of  music  in  schools  are,  then, 

first  to  develop  and  cultivate  that  liking  for 

Objects  of  the    music  which  the  vast  majority  of  children 

Study  of  Music  ,  n      i.    /    -vi  i.  e 

in  Schools.         possess,  and,  secondly,  to  lacilitate,  as  tar  as 

is   consistent   Avith   the   first-named    object, 

tlie  acquisition  of  some  technical  skill  in  the  niaking  of 

music. 


THE    TEACUINO    OF    MTJSIC.  195 

Unfortunately,  many  schemes  of  instruction  in  the  past 
have  inverted  the  order  of  these  aims,  and  have  been  almost 
entirely  concerned  with  the  technical  side;  with  the  in- 
evitable result  that  there  is  quite  an  army  of  young  people 
who  can  sing  or  play  fairly  correctly  but  ai'e  entirely  devoid 
of  that  indefinable  but  very  real  quality,  musical  taste. 
The  result  is  seen  in  the  worship  of  prodigies  of  almost 
superhuman  technique,  and  the  lack  of  appreciation  of 
artists  whose  musical  insight  is  superior  to  their  mechanical 
dexterity.  Any  improvement  in  the  popular  musical  taste 
which  manifests  itself  in  this  country  in  future  years  will 
be  due,  in  a  large  measure,  to  the  influence  of  th.e  teachers 
of  music  in  the  primary  schools. 

The  cultivation  of  musical  taste  opens  up  such  a  wide 
field  of  inqvury  that  the  limits  of  this  chapter  preclude 
more  than  a  hasty  survey.  First  of  all,  musical  taste  pre- 
sumes that  its  possessor  has  been  habitually  confronted  by 
good  models.  The  taste  of  a  child  who  has  heard  nothing 
but  the  comic  songs  of  the  day  is  not  likely  to  be  very 
refined.  Hence  the  teacher  must  seize  every  opportunity 
of  providing  good  music  for  liis  pupils.  But  what  is 
'  good  '  music  ?  A  definition  wotild  be  difiicult  to  frame. 
Good  music  is  not  necessarily  complicated — indeed,  some 
of  the  music  which  is  universally  acknowleged  as  fine  in 
every  sense,  such  as  that  of  many  of  our  hymn  tunes,  is 
perfectly  simple. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  good  music  is  that  one  never 
grows  tired  of  it.  It  will  appeal  with,  added  force  at  each 
repetition  ;  new  beauties  will  reveal  themselves.  Hence,  if 
a  melody  which  at  first  seemed  particularly  attractive  grows 
less  so  when  repeated,  it  is  fairly  certain  that  it  does  not 
fully  satisfy  the  canons  of  good  taste.  Of  course  the 
personal  equation  must  enter  largely  into  taste.  It 
would  not  be    wise  for  the    teacher   to   present   classical 


196  THE    TEACHING    OP    MUSIC. 

examples  indiscriminately  to  liis  class ;  the  age  of 
liis  pupils  and  other  circumstances  must  be  taken  into 
account. 

Again,  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  expect  the  members  of 
the  class  to  do  all  the  music-maldng.  The  teacher  himself 
should  be  capable  of  giving  a  simple  vocal  or  instrumental 
performance  occasional!}-,  and  it  is  rare  nowadays  to  find 
a  school  staff  on  which  there  is  not  at  least  one  member 
efficient  in  some  branch  of  music.  It  is  rightly  enough 
being  recognised  that  the  music  lesson  should  not  be 
entrusted  to  a  teacher  who  is  not  really  musical,  and,  if  it 
can  be  arranged,  the  most  musical  member  of  the  school 
staff  should  superintend  all  the  music  lessons. 

3.  In  large  schools  it  is  possible  to  form  a  school  choir 

„    .       consistinsi-  of  the  best  pupils  from  each  class. 

School  Choirs.  "  i     ^i-     •  n     + 

With  proper  sateguarcls  this  is  an  excellent 

plan.     Such  a  choir  will  naturally  be  able  to  reach  a  higher 

standard  of  musical  attainment  than  will  any  of  the  ordinary 

classes,  and  will  demonstrate  to  these  what  is  possible  in 

the  direction  of  vocal  music.     Admission   to   this   choir 

should  be  looked  upon  as  a  privilege,  and  also  as  a  right 

belonging  to  any  child  who  gives  evidence  of  good  progress. 

School  concerts,  occasionally  given,  also  supply  a  stimulus 

to  the  young  vocalists  to  put  forth  their  very  best  efforts. 

Human  nature  being  what  it  is,  some  incentive  of  this 

kind  is  necessary  if  a  liigh  standard  of  excellence  is  to  be 

attained. 

4.  Only  rarely  is  it  possible  to  organise  school  orchestras. 

Such  orchestras  as  do  exist — with  a  few  rare 
O^'^h*'^  as  exceptions — certainly  do  not  contribute  to- 
wards the  formation  of  a  good  musical  taste. 
Tlic  dilticulties  met  with  are  of  such  a  character  as  cannot 
fairly  be  dealt  with  in  scliools,  and  had  better  be  encoun- 
tered outside. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC.  197 

5.  Once  aguin,  since  the  cultivation  of  taste  presupposes 
tlie  continuous  presentation  of  good  models, 
it  follows  that  great  care  must  l)e  taken  in 
the  choice  of  exercises  and  songs.  With  regard  to  the 
latter  a  very  wide  field  of  choice  is  open.  Of  late  years  all 
musical  publishers  of  note  have  exploited  this  field  mth 
excellent  results.  It  would  be  invidious  to  particularise, 
but  a  teacher  who  pays  a  visit  to  Messrs.  Novello  or  to 
Messrs.  Cui'wen  will  find  hundreds  of  really  good  songs 
from  which  to  choose.  Nevertheless,  some  discrimination 
will  be  necessary. 

There  has  been  a  movement  recently  in  favour  of  making 
the  so-called  English  '  Folk-song '  the  staple  food  in  the 
way  of  songs  for  primary  schools.  Unfortunately,  there 
are  not  very  many  of  these  true  'folk-songs'  now  avoilable  ; 
and  most  of  the  '  national '  songs  are  unsuitable.  The 
traditional  tunes  are,  generally  speaking,  of  a  high  order  of 
merit,  but  the  words  are  too  often  of  a  character  which 
unfits  them  for  school  use.  It  is  only  necessai-y  to  examine 
a  comprehensive  selection  in  order  to  realise  the  force  of 
this  objection.  However,  there  remain  a  few  which  do 
not  err  in  this  respect,  and  these  should  be  taught  in  every 
school.  The  words  of  songs  always  require  consideration 
before  they  ii.re  selected  for  class  piirposes.  Children  will 
take  a  liking  to  a  song  independently  of  its  tune  if  the 
words  are  attractive,  but  few  tunes  have  sufficient  charm 
to  make  their  way  if  wedded  to  words  which  are  un- 
intelligible. 

The  appreciation  of  pure  instrumental  m\isic  seems  to 
come  rather  late  in  a  child's  life,  unless  he  is  making  it 
himself,  and  then  the  pleasure  is  not  entirely  musical. 
This  perhaps  accounts  for  the  fact  that  many  classical 
songs  do  not  always  win  their  way  as  might  be  expected : 
the  melody  may  be  charming,  but  the  elaboration  of  the 


198  THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC. 

accompauimeut  and  the  lack  of  directness  in  the  words  fail 
to  commend  the  songs  to  yonng  people.  Few  teachers  would 
l>e  foolish  enough  to  select  '  love-songs'  for  class  purposes, 
but  it  is  just  as  incongruous  to  ask  children  who  have  no 
living  idea  of  a  mountain  or  the  sea  to  do  justice  to  a  song 
apostrophising  these  natural  objects.  Moreover,  it  should 
l:»e  remembered  that  no  singer  can  give  a  good  rendering  to 
a  song  imless  he  can  recite  the  words  intelligently  and 
forcibly,  which  he  certainly  cannot  do  if  he  does  not  fully 
luiderstand  and  appreciate  the  sentiment. 

When  considering  the  stiitability  of  a  song  from  the 
melodic  standpoint  it  is  important  to  notice  that  pupils 
taking  the  first  or  second  year's  course  must  not  be  con- 
fronted with  any  but  the  simplest  rhythms  and  smooth 
melodic  oiitlines.  The  standard  of  diificulty  of  the  songs 
should  always  be  somewhat  lower  than  that  of  the 
exercises. 

Then,  again,  it  must  be  observed  that  some  melodies  are 
quite  difficult  and  entirely  ineffective  without  an  accom- 
paniment. This  point  is  too  frequently  overlooked.  If 
the  melody  of  a  song  is  intended  to  be  sung  without  its 
proper  accompaniment,  this  accompaniment  ought  not  to 
consist  of  rapidly  changing  chords,  because  the  omission 
of  these  will  leave  a  sense  of  bareness.  If,  however,  the 
accompaniment  is  formed  of  only  a  few  chords  constantly 
recurring — it  does  not  matter  if  these  chords  are  spread  out 
into  aiyeggi — the  melody  itself  usually  contains  a  sugges- 
tion of  the  harmony,  and  the  accompaniment  is  not  so 
inuch  missed. 

Again,  the  songs  included  in  each  year's  coiu'se  should 
be  chosen  from  two  standpoints.  There  should  be  some 
for  detailed  study,  that  is,  songs  whose  beauties  will  reveal 
themselves  more  and  more  as  they  are  better  known  ;  and 
there  shoidd  be  otlun's  of  the  recreative  order,  chosen,  that 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC.  199 

is.  because  the  children  will  got  liealthy  amusement  from 
siuging  them.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  teacher  will 
find  that  he  has  miscalculated  the  taste  of  his  class  when 
choosing  a  song  of  this  second  type :  in  that  case  he  should 
not  force  this  song  upon  the  class,  but  quietly  let  it  disap- 
pear from  his  scheme  and  substitute  another. 

Songs  of  this  type  should,  even  in  the  upper  divisions, 
be  sung  in  unison,  except  that  perhaps  the  refrain,  if  there 
is  one,  may  be  sung  in  '  parts.'  An  accompaniment  of 
coiu'se  adds  to  the  enjoyment,  and  it  is  a  mistake  to  get  an 
excess  of  refinement  into  the  rendering;  moi'e  than  a 
suspicion  of  abandon  is  desiral)le.  Of  course,  this  does 
not  imply  coarseness. 

6.  This  type  of  song  should  be  taught  by  ear,  at  any 
rate  in  the  lower  classes.  In  the  very  laud- 
Singing  by  able  anxiety  to  teach  every  child  to  read 
musical  notation,  we  have  somewhat  over- 
looked the  value  of  the  more  empirical  method  of  teaching 
singing.  After  all,  this  is  the  way  we  learn  to  talk,  and 
we  talk  before  we  can  read.  In  fact,  the  one  object  of 
learning  to  read  music  is  to  entice  the  pupil  to  make  him- 
self acquainted  with  musical  literature  of  which  he  would 
othenvise  remain  ignorant.  But  at  the  same  time  it  is 
possible  to  obtain  more  than  a  passing  acquaintance  with 
musical  literature  without  being  able  to  read  it;  much  of 
folk-song  music  is  unwritten,  albeit  those  races  which  are 
by  general  consent  regarded  as  liighly  musical  are  those 
which  possess  a  vast  storehouse  of  these  traditional  tunes. 
Too  often  syllabuses  in  music  are  apparently  designed  Avith 
the  main  idea  of  teaching  children  to  read  miisic,  not  to 
show  them  how  to  render  it  so  as  to  obtain  therefrom  the 
maximum  of  enjoyment.  Moreover,  'singing  by  ear' 
presumes  a  good  deal  of  ear  training  of  a  valuable  kind. 

The  method  of  teaching  a  song  liy  ear  is  a  fairly  obvious 


200  THE    TEACHINa    OF    MUSIC. 

one.  The  first  line  or  phrase  is  suug  two  or  three  times 
by  the  teacher  and  repeated  by  the  class;  the  second 
phrase  is  then  attacked  in  the  same  Avay  and  then  both  the 
phrases  together,  and  so  on  through  the  song.  If  any 
awkward  melodic  intervals  occur,  they  should  be  referred 
to  the  modulator,  and  any  unfamiliar  rhythms  should  be 
analysed  separately.  The  melody  can  be  learnt  indepen- 
dently of  the  words,  although  it  is  often  easier  to  teach 
both  together. 

The  tunes  thus  taught  can  and  should  be  utilised  inci- 
dentally in  the  following  way — 

(a)  If  the  rhythms  have  been  already  learut  in  the 
ordinary  course  they  should  bo  identified  and  written 
down 

(6)  The  tunes  can  be  used  as  voice  exercises  to  the  open 
vowels. 

(c)  The  various  melodic  phrases  can  be  used  as  ear  tests 
and  pointed  out  by  the  pupils  on  the  modulator  or  written 
down. 

(d)  The  most  musical  pupils  can  be  invited  to  write 
down  the  tune  in  full. 

(e)  Generally  speaking  the  tunes  can  be  used  as  standards 
to  which  many  difficulties  occurring  in  other  directions  of 
musical  study  can  be  referred. 

There  is  another  consideration  to  be  borne  in  mind  in 
connection  Avith  singing  by  ear.  In  the  opening  paragraph 
it  was  maintained  that  the  chief  principle  underlying  the 
study  of  music  in  schools  is  not  that  the  children  should 
acquire  musical  knowledge — tliough  this  is  certainly  a 
secondary  object — but  that  they  should  be  guided  so  that 
they  can  enjoy  music  as  an  art  rather  than  as  a  science. 
Clearly  this  condition  will  be  most  nearly  fulfilled  in  that 
part  of  the  lesson  devoted  to  shiging  by  ear.  Few  pupils 
can  obtain  much  pleasure  from  the  mere  deciphering  of 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MCSIC.  201 

musical  symbols,  except  in  so  far  as  they  anticipate  some 
enjoyment  in  the  future  derivable  from  the  increased 
facility  in  the  reproduction  of  musical  sounds  which  such 
practice  ensures.  There  certainly  is  an  intellectual  side  to 
music,  for  example  the  principle  of  Form,  but  this  is  quite 
beyond  the  comprehension  of  young  children ;  to  these  it 
is  the  emotional  element  which  appeals. 

7.  The  power  of  harmony  to  enforce  the  beauty  of 
.  melody  is   generally  recognised  ;    moreover, 

harmony  considered  by  itself,  as,  for  example, 
in  a  sustained  chord,  has  a  special  charm.  An  elemen- 
tary study  of  chords  should  be  introduced  into  the  curri- 
culum from  the  earliest  stages.  They  should  be  simg 
softly,  so  that  each  singer  can  hear  the  whole  chord,  and 
not  only  his  particular  note.  The  simplest  chord  is  of 
course  d  m  s,  and  in  whatever  order  these  notes  are  ar- 
ranged the  result  will  always  be  a  harmonious  chord.  If 
the  teacher  bears  this  in  mind,  a  little  ingenuity  will 
enable  him  to  devise  a  great  variety  of  useful  exercises. 
For  instance,  the  class  can  be  divided  into  halves;  the 
members  of  one  division  can  hold  between  them  the  notes 
of  the  chord,  while  the  rest  can  sing  a  melody  founded  on 
the  notes  of  the  chord.  Or  one  half  of  the  class  can  sing 
the  arpecjgio  upAvards,  while  the  other  sings  it  downwards, 
two-part  harmony  thus  being  formed.  These  exercises 
should  be  rhythmic.  Too  often  rhythm  is  excluded  from 
exercises  in  tune,  rhythm  being  treated  as  if  it  were 
merely  invented  to  furnish  material  for  the  construction 
of  'time-tests.'^  Melody  without  rhythm  is  incompatible 
with  our  modern  musical  system. 

The  easiest,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
interesting  forms  of  part-singing  is  the  '  Round.'  In  fact, 
if   it  were  not  for  the  round,  the  opportunities  for  real 

'  See  p.  210;  cf.  ])p.  2U-9. 


202  THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC. 

part-siugiug  in  schools  would  be  rather  limited,  as  the 
restricted  compass  of  the  voices  precludes  the  possibility  of 
introducing  harmony  of  the  conventional  kind.  It  should, 
however,  be  noticed  that  there  is  a  tendency  in  singing 
rounds  for  the  singers  to  forget  the  canons  of  voice  pro- 
duction in  their  anxiety  to  keep  their  o^vn  part.  This 
must  be  checked  by  keeping  the  amount  of  tone  he]o^y  forte. 

Part-singing  of  the  usual  type,  that  is  treble  and  alto,  is 
an  important  accomplishment,  no  doubt,  but  the  plan 
frequently  adopted  of  setting  the  best  pupils  to  sing  the 
lower  part  or  parts  simply  because  they  can  read  fluently, 
regardless  of  the  compass  of  their  voices,  is  ruinous  to  the 
singing  of  the  class  as  a  whole.  Treble  voices  must  sing 
treble  and  alto  voices  must  sing  alto  ;  if  there  are  no  alto 
voices  in  the  class,  then  there  must  be  only  unison  singing. 
There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  trying  to  convert  a  good 
treble  into  a  bad  alto  voice.  A  pupil's  voice  should  be 
tested  on  entry  into  a  class,  and  again  after  two  or  three 
months'  interval,  as  the  voice  with  practice  will  sometimes 
develop  differently  from  what  one  might  expect. 

As  far  as  songs  are  concerned,  the  ordinary  teacher  will 
tind  it  best  not  to  attempt  three  or  four-part  work.  The 
lowest  part  is  generally  too  low  or  the  highest  too  high  for 
satisfactory  tone  production,  although  occasionally  a  song 
not  open  to  these  objections  is  met  with.^  The  best  plan 
is  to  take  three  and  four-part  rounds  in  the  higher  divisions  ; 
in  these  the  above  difficulty  is  not  encountered  in  so 
aggravated  a  form. 

8.  Stress  is  rightly  laid  upon  ear  training  as  a  branch 

of  musical  instruction.     The  ability  to  sing 

any   note  asked  for  is  obviously  bound  up 

with   the  power  of   recognising  this  note   when    sung  by 

'  E'Kjhtcen  I'Ja^y  Two-Part  Songs  (Novt^llo)  is  sjicciall}'  rccom- 
nioiided  fioiii  Llie  staiulpoint  of  moderate  conipaK.s  in  liotli  pails. 


THF    TRACHINO    OF    MUSIC.  203 

another.  However,  it  is  a  mistake  to  relegate  this  training- 
to  a  special  part  of  the  lessou — it  can  be  more  profitably 
introduced  duriiif?  the  course  of  the  lesson.  Ear  trainino- 
should  not  be  restricted  to  the  pitch  of  notes  ;  rhythms 
should  occasionally  be  written  do^vn  by  the  class  when 
sung  or  rapped  out  by  the  teacher.  This  should  go  pari 
passu  with  the  reading  of  rhythms  from  the  blackljoard. 
The  children  may  well  be  invited  to  invent  rhythms  for 
themselves,  and  the  teacher  can  clothe  these  mth  melody 
and  have  them  sung  by  the  class. 

9.  This  chapter  is  not  intended  for  teachers  of  solo- 
Voice  Training.  ^">'^^S'  therefore  the  remarks  made  about 
■  voice  training  must  be  of  a  general  nature. 
The  demands  made  by  other  subjects  upon  school  time 
do  not  permit  of  special  lessons  in  voice  trainijig,  so  that 
this  must  be  taught  to  a  certain  extent  incidentally. 
Every  music  lesson  should  in  itself  be  a  lesson  in  voice 
training,  that  is,  the  exercises  as  well  as  the  songs  must  be 
sung  artistically,  not  merely  correctly. 

The  one  essential  of  good  tone  production  is  control  of 
the  breath.  This,  in  a  vocal  sense,  is  not  usually  acquired 
naturally.  In  ordinaiy  life  we  seldom  or  never  fill  our 
lungs  to  their  utmost  capacity,  and  the  emission  of  breath 
is  generally  a  passive  act — we  do  not  consciously  control 
it.  If  we  do  so,  it  is  usiialiy  by  closing  the  throat. 
Now  this  procedure  is  fatal  to  good  singing.  We  must 
habitually  fill  our  lungs  thoroughly,  and  we  must  acquire 
perfect  control  over  exhalation  by  means  of  the  muscles  of 
the  ribs ;  tliat  is,  the  emission  must  lie  the  result  of  the 
collapse  of  the  ribs,  and  {he  rate  of  collapse  must  be  under 
control. 

A  correct  method  of  bi-eathing  being  once  assured,  little 
further  trouble  vnW  be  experienced  in  the  production  of 
pure    tone.       Fortunately,    there    is    little    difficulty    in 


204  THE    TEACHING    OF    MTJSIC. 

acquiring  control  of  the  breatli,  if  the  following  exercises 
are  done  regularly,  so  that  the  right  method  of  breathing 
Ijecomes  a  habit.  They  should  be  performed  at  the  as- 
sembly of  the  school.  Three  minutes  at  every  meeting 
spent  upon  these  exercises  will  be  ample  time  to  devote  to 
the  subject,  and  the  result  will  benefit  the  pupils  physio- 
logically as  well  as  musically. 

Exercise  I — -The  teacher  counts  one,  two,  during  which 
the  class  slowly  takes  a  full  breath  l)y  ex- 
Inha  ation.  panding  the  lower  ribs,  not  by  raising  the 
shoulders.  This  bi-eath  is  retained  without  stiffening  the 
throat  while  three,  fo2ir,  five,  six  are  counted ;  then  the 
breath  is  suddenly  expelled.    (To  be  repeated  three  times.) 

Exercise  II — The  teacher  counts  one,  two,  as  before,  but 
after  holdmg  the  breath  for  two  more  seconds  the  pupils 
endeavovir  to  take  in  a  little  more  breath,  which  is  ex- 
pelled after  being  retained  for  two  or  three  more  seconds. 
(Eepeat  three  times.) 

Exercise  I — Breath  to  be  taken  as  in  Ex.  I  alwve,  but 

it  is  to  be  expelled  very  slowly  immediately 
Exhalation.         ^^^^^.  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^^      rpj^g^.g  ^.jj] 

be  a  danger  at  first  of  the  breath  escaping  rapidly ;  this 
must  l)e  checked  by  resisting  the  natural  tendency  of  the 
ribs  to  collapse,  not  by  closing  the  throat.  (Repeat  this 
exercise  three  times.) 

Exercise  II — Breath  to  be  taken  as  before,  but  it  is  to 
be  held  for  two  seconds  before  expiration  begins,  and  care 
must  be  taken  lest  at  the  heginningoi  expiration  the  breath 
is  inordinately  wasted. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  correct  posture  of  the  body  during 

breathing  exercises  and  vocal  practice  gener- 

Posture  of  j^]|y  ^f,  ^^f  importance.      The  head  must  be 

^'  comfortably  poised  on  the  shoulders,  so  that 

uo  rigidity  of  the  muscles  takes  place.     The  root  of  the 


THK    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC.  205 

tongue  must  not  be  stift'eued,  uov  must  it  be  humped  so  as 
to  stop  the  free  egress  of  tone  from  the  laryux.  The  teeth 
should  be  kept  well  apai-t  whilst  uiuitting  tone,'  but  the 
lower  jaw  must  not  be  stiffened  ;  in  fact,  a  '  floating  '  jaw 
is  one  of  the  marks  of  a  good  vocalist.  The  position  of  the 
lips  depends  upon  the  vowel  sung,  but  it  may  be  remarked 
generally  that  English  people  do  not  make  nearly  enough 
use  of  the  muscles  of  their  lips.  They  forget  that  each 
vowel  requires  a  distinctive  position  of  the  lips,  which 
should  be  protruded  for  oo  and  di-awn  back  for  ai.  To 
demonsti'ate  this  to  the  class,  let  the  teacher  tell  the  class 
to  sing  00,  oh,  aw,  ah,  ai,  ee  on  one  note  and  to  try  to  feel 
the  different  positions  of  the  lips. 

Even  although  the  breathing  and  bodily  attitude  may  be 

correct,  it  is  still  possible  to  produce  sounds 
Tone  ^  °  °^  unpleasant  quality.     This  will  Ije  the  case 

if  there  is  any  forcing  of  the  voice ;  that  is, 
if  any  attempt  be  made  to  produce  a  note  more  loudly  than 
is  consistent  with  the  stage  of  voice  development  reached. 
As  a  matter  of  experience  it  is  found  that  nearly  every 
child  can  produce  tone  of  good  quality  provided  it  is  soft ; 
loud  tones  may  or  may  not  be  pleasant,  more  often  they 
are  not.  Hence  the  rule  that  class  singing  should  normally 
be  soft ;  in  fact,  exercises  should  invariably  be  sung 
quietly. 

The  voices  of  boys-  are  especially  troublesome.  The 
notes  within  their  compass  are  produced  in  two  different 
ways ;  the  highest  notes  have  a  quality,  and  are  produced 

'  Tone  can  be  emitted  upon  vowelri  alouc.  When  tlie  teetli  are 
closed  to  form  dental  consonants  tliej'  should  be  opened  again  imme- 
diately for  the  following  vowel. 

'^  Cases  frequentl}-  occur  where  boys'  voices  '  break  '  Ijefore  seliool 
life  terminates.  No  bo}'  in  this  condition  should  be  alloA\  cd  to  take 
part  in  class-singing,  or  serious  harm  may  result. 


206  THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC. 

by  a  meclianism  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  lowest 
notes.  It  so  happens  that  the  middle  notes  can  be  pro- 
duced with  either  mechanism,  and  the  general  tendency  is 
to  produce  them  with  the  mechanism  used  for  the  lower 
notes,  with  the  result  that  the  higher  in  the  scale  the  voice 
ascends  the  harsher  and  more  strident  the  notes  become. 
Technically,  these  two  mechanisms  are  called  the  '  chest ' 
(this  is  the  ordinary  speaking-voice)  and  the  '  head  '  regis- 
ter. The  great  aim  of  every  teacher  of  boys  should  be  to 
secure  that  the  middle  notes  are  sung  in  the  head  and  not 
in  the  chest  voice.  Scales  simg  downwards  on  the  vowel 
'  00 '  have  been  found  most  effective  for  this  purpose.  The 
upper  notes  of  the  boy's  voice  are  naturally  of  good  quality, 
and  the  lowest  are  not  unpleasant  provided  that  an  en- 
deavour is  made  to  get  a  full,  round  tone  without  the 
slightest  suspicion  of  forcing. 

In  the  case  of  girls  the  difference  between  chest  and 
head  register  is  not  so  marked.  Generally  speaking,  the 
notes  above  P  (first  space,  treble  staff)  should  be  sung  in 
the  head  register.  Children  need  not  be  told  about  the 
registers,  but  it  is  essential  that  they  should  be  able  to 
discriminate  between  harsh  and  pleasant  tones.^  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  take  one  or  two  pupils  wdio  produce  their 
voices  correctly  and  to  instruct  the  class  to  imitate  the  tone 
these  produce  as  nearly  as  possible.  If  each  individual 
member  of  the  class  be  instructed  to  sing  the  same  note  in 
turn,  the  others  will  at  once  appreciate  the  difference  be- 
tween tones  of  pleasing  and  unpleasing  quality. 

'  The  singer  himself  is  not  a  good  judge  of  the  quality  of  the  tone 
lie  produces.  It  is  never  the  same  to  him  as  to  his  audience.  To 
liim  the  lone  is  modified  by  the  resonance  of  the  cavities  of  the 
skull  ami  by  the  immediate  contact  of  the  sound  with  the  seat  of 
the  perceptive  faculty.  A  practised  singer  tries  ratiier  to  fed  the 
sound  tlian  to  listen  to  it. 


THK    TEAGHIJ^O    OF    MUSIC.  207 

While  soft  singing  should  be  the  normal  standard  of 
tone,  it  is  not  at  all  impossible  after  diligent  practice  for  a 
class  to  produce  a  good  forte.  The  best  way  to  attain  this 
end  is  to  sing  such  exercises  as 


P 


-liz 


-f2Z 


ah         .  ... 

The  crescendo  must  be  gradual. 

It  does  not  lie  within  the  scope  of  this  chapter  to  give  a 
complete  series  of  voice-training  exercises  ;  these  will  be 
found  in  anj  text-book  of  vocal  music.  They  should  at 
first  be  sung  to  the  open  vowels  ;  then  words  containing 
these  vowels  should  be  employed. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  such  exercises  are  tiring  and 
seldom  interesting,  therefore  they  should  be  taken  at  the 
beginning  of  the  lesson  and  should  occupy  only  a  very  few 
minutes,  for  incidentally  voice  training  goes  on  all  through 
the  music  lesson. 

Provided  that  the  breathing  exercises  are  practised  at  the 
opening  of  school,  as  recommended,  the  music  lesson  should 
open  with  the  singing  of  a  few  isolated  notes  held  steadily 
for  several  seconds.  Then  should  follow  some  scales  legato, 
and  then  an  arpeggio,  sung  first  staccato  and  then  legato. 
This  should  take  about  five  minutes,  and  another  two  or 
three  minutes  should  be  given  to  an  exercise  on  wide  skips 
to  increase  the  flexibility  of  the  voice.  Some  ingenuity 
should  be  expended  by  the  teacher  in  devising  variations 
on  these  exercises,  bearing  in  mind  what  has  been  said 
upon  the  essentially  uninteresting  character  of  these 
studies. 

The  teacher  should  not  forbear  to  give  some  commenda- 
tion when  the  exercises  are  sung  exceptionally  well;  it  has 


208  THE    TBACHINQ    OP    MTT8IC. 

already  been  reuiarlced  tliat  singers  do  not  always  know 

wlietlier  the  tones   they  produce  are  as  pleasant  to  the 

listener  as  they  are  to  the  performer. 

10.  In  laying  stress  on  the  subject  of  quality  of  tone 

the  teacher  must  not  overlook  the  importance 

Words  in  ^^  securing  distinct  utterance  of  the  words. 

Smgmg.  '^ ,  ,  •  .' 

The  two  ponits  are  by  no  means  antagonistic ; 

they  are  indeed  complementary.  The  faults  which  produce 
bad  enunciation  of  words  will  also  cause  bad  tone.  There 
is  hardly  a  single  vowel  or  combination  of  vowels  in  the 
English  language  with  which  a  satisfactory  tone  cannot  be 
combined.  The  vowels  ai  and  ee  are  the  most  awkward  to 
deal  with,  and  a  very  slight  modification  of  these  obviates 
the  difficulty.  This  question  really  belongs  to  the  art 
of  elocution  and  cannot  be  treated  in  detail  here. 
Some  points,  however,  stand  out  as  pre-eminently  im- 
portant. 

(a)  All  musical  tone  must  be  associated  with  a  vowel 
sound — the  true  consonants  are  not,  strictly  speaking, 
sounds  at  all,  but  only  the  beginnings  or  cessations  of 
sound  in  particular  ways.  Such  semi-consonants  as  .9,  sh, 
I,  and  r  must  be  remarked  in  this  connection.  These 
sounds  must  be  momentary  only — that  is,  we  must  get 
rid  of  them  with  the  greatest  possible  celerity  and  proceed 
to  the  vowel  following. 

(6)  Consonants  must  be  very  distinctly  pronounced.  It 
is  rather  the  consonants  than  the  vowels  which  define  the 
word  to  the  listener,  especially  if  the  word  is  associated 
with  a  long  note. 

(c)  The  whole  word  must  be  more  clearly  pronounced 
than  in  speaking,  even  to  the  point  of  appearing  like 
exao-geration  to  the  singer.  The  music  tends  to  distract 
the  attention  from  the  words,  hence  these  must  be  forced 
upon  the  hearer  with  extra  emphasis. 


T!IE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC.  209 

('/)  The  EnL,'lisli  language  is  not  phonetic;  the  spelling 
is  no  guide  to  the  actual  vowel  sounds.  For  example,  take 
the  line — 

"  I  iiKjiirii  no  more  the  vani.shed  j'cars." 

The  sounds  upon  which  the  music  is  made  are  ah-\-i,  aw, 
oh,  aw,  nli-\-l,  a,  t,  ee. 

A  very  useful  exercise  is  occasionally  to  take  the  words 
of  one  of  the  school  songs,  and  make  the  class  distil  the 
true  vowel  sounds  as  exemplified  above. 

11.  It  has  already  been  intimated  that  the  accomplish- 
ment of  reading  from  musical  notes,  although 
nu^::icaf  Notes,  ^-"^^''^'iiely  valuable,  must  not  mouopolise  the 
whole  of  the  music  lesson,  although  those 
responsible  for  framing  many  syllabuses  seem  to  think 
that  it  should  do  so.  Music  existed  before  musical  nota- 
tion, and  would  still  be  a  vital  force  in  the  world  of  Art 
were  all  svstems  of  notation  banished.  Still,  the  reading 
of  music  is  obviously  of  great  importance,  and  the  subject 
must  be  attacked  and  mastered  during  school  life  cr  it  will 
never  be  comprehended  at  all. 

The  systems  of  musical  notation  are  many,  but  two 
only    are    worth    consideration  -.    the    '  Old 

Systems  of  Notation  '  and  '  Tonic  Sol- Fa.'  There  would 
Musical  , 

Notation.  "^  ii^  profit  m  contmumg  here  the  long  con- 

troversy which    has   been   waged  over  their 
respective  merits. 

'  Tonic  Sol-Fa '  up  to  a  certain  point  is  simplicity  itself, 
and  some  excellent  results  have  accrued  from  its  adoption ; 
on  the  other  hand,  it  has  not  superseded  the  older  system, 
and,  if  it  is  safe  to  prophesy,  it  probably  will  never  do  so. 
It  is  impracticable  for  instrumental  music,  and,  considering 
that  vocaUsts  are  so  often  instrumentahsts  as  -well,  it  is 
unreasonable  to  expect  both  systems  to  be  learnt,  although 
Hi.  TQ.  l^ 


210  THE  TEACHING  OF  MUSIC. 

by  far  the  best  results  are  obtained  from  the  use  of  the 
Sol-Fa  principles  applied  to  the  Old  Notation. 

The  Old  Notation  bristles  with  anomalies  due  t,o  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  result  of  some  centuries  of  growth  ;  so 
does  English  spelling,  which  does  not  look  as  if  it  would  be 
superseded  just  yet  by  a  phonetic  system. 

Meanwhile,  the  teacher  who  wishes  to  equip  his  pupils 
most  thoroughly  for  future  musical  life  will  probably  adopt 
the  combined  system  known  as  the  '  Movable  Doh,'  avail- 
ing himself  of  the  excellent  advice  given  in  the  many 
useful  text-books  issued  by  the  Tonic  Sol-Fa-ists,  whose 
investigations  into  the  subject  of  teaching  vocal  music  are 
exhaustive,  and,  within  their  limits,  trustworthy.  Many  ex- 
perienced teachers  find  it  best  to  use  Sol-Fa  entirely  in  the 
lower  divisions,  gradually  combiniiig  the  two  systems  later; 
others  prefer  to  adopt  the  '  Movable  Doh '  at  the  very 
outset.  It  is  not  a  matter  upon  which  to  dogmatise :  both 
covirses  have  their  able  advocates. 

Difficulties  of  notation  fall  broadly  into  two  categories- 
difficulties  of  rhythm  and  difficulties  of  time. 
Difficulties         rpi^^gg  difficulties  are  dealt  with  seriatim  by 
of  Notation.         ,  .,  „  .^.      ^.  i     i     / 

the  authors  of  multitudinous  good  text- 
books, so  that  a  few  general  remarks  only  will  be  offered 
here. 

(a)  A  protest  must  be  made  against  the  unmusical 
puzzles  which  are  too  often  proposed  to  children  for 
solution.  The  so-called  'Time- tests,'  much  beloved  by 
unimaginative  teachers  and  even  inspectors,  bear  about  as 
much  relation  to  music  as  they  do  to  geometry.  The  best 
time-tests  are  those  found  by  the  teacher  himself  in  the 
works  of  the  great  masters  of  music  ;  there  are  thousands 
of  such  tests  lying  ready  to  hand. 

(6)  The  same  consideration  applies  to  '  Tune-tests.' 
The  aimless  meaoideriuiis  of  some  of  the  so-called  melodies 


THE    TBACHINQ    OF    MUSIC.  211 

set    for  tests   in  tunt;  ure  devoid  of  anything  approaching 
charm   or   even    interest.     Whereas,  if  the  teacher   takes 
some  of  the  phrases  from,  say,  Schubert's  songs,  the  result 
will  be  pleasant  and  profitable.     For  modulator  exercises 
nothing  is  better  than  a  well-known  tune ;  the  desired  link 
between  sound  and  symbol  is  then  already  partly  forged. 
12.  The  personal  demeanour  of  the  teacher  is,  as  every- 
one knows,  a  great  factor  in  the  success  or 
failui'e  of  liis  teaching.     In  the  music  lesson 
there  is  a  special  instance  of  this.     When  the  words  and 
tune  of  a  song  have  been  mastered  there  is  still  something 
wanting  to  secure  a  good  rendering.     It  may  be  called 
'  expression  '  or  anything  else  ;  it  is  difficult  to  define. 

A  good  soloist  '  feels '  his  song,  and  by  a  selective  use 
of  the  many  '  tricks  of  the  trade '  which  he  has  learnt  by 
experience  he  contrives  to  arouse  the  same  emotions  in  his 
audience.  But  no  two  singers  '  feel '  quite  alike  in  this 
respect,  and  herein  lies  the  difference  between  solo  and 
class  singing.  In  what  we  have  called  the  '  recreative ' 
songs  individuaUty  should  not  be  repressed,  but  in  the 
more  important  songs  it  is  necessary  to  secure  unanimity 
of  sentiment.  In  fact,  the  sentiment  infused  should  be  the 
conductor's  own  ;  he  plays  txpon  the  voices  of  his  class, 
which  he  uses  as  one  big  responsive  instrument.  This  he 
does,  or,  rather,  should  do,  by  suitable  gestures ;  but 
good  conducting  is  seldom  seen  in  primary  schools.  A 
few  remarks  may  be  useful : 

(a)  Every  gesture  should  mean  something ;  mere  postur- 
ing is  ludicrous  and  useless. 

(b)  The  same  gesture  should  always  indicate  the  same 
desire. 

(c)  The  gestures  should  be  clearly  seen  by  the  class,  but 
as  far  as  possible  screened  from  everyone  else. 

(r/)  The  gestures  should  be  graceful.     If  a  teacher  were 


212  THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSIC. 

occasioually  to  practise  tliese  gestures  before  a  mirror  he 
would  possibly  be  saved  from  making  himself  ridiculous  in 
pubhc.  Few  realise  how  absurd  some  of  their  bodily 
postures  are  until  they  have  seen  them  as  others  do. 

(e)  The  class  must  be  immediately  responsive  to  the 
slightest  indication  on  the  part  of  the  conductor.  To  keep 
the  class  on  the  alert  the  teacher  should  occasionally  vary 
the  rendering  of  a  song. 

(/)  Conducting  should  enhance  the  rendering — if  it 
does  not,  it  is  superfluous. 

13.  In  teaching  a  new  song  from  notes,  the  class  will 

have  a  copy  of  the  music  and  words,  or  these 
Teaching  ^^         l^p   written    on   the   blackboard.      The 

from  Notes.  •  ,     t    r-  T/r>      i 

rhythm  will  l)e  attacked  first,  any  difficult 

groups  l)eing  isolated  and  analysed.  Incidentally  it  may 
be  remarked  that  the  French  time-names  employed  in  the 
Tonic  Sol-Fa  system  should  invariably  be  used,  whether 
that  system  be  adopted  in  its  entirety  or  not.  There  is  no 
doubt  as  to  their  excellence.  Next,  any  difficult  melodic 
intervals  will  be  isolated  and  sung  from  the  modulator. 
Then  the  tune  itself  will  be  pointed  with  its  proper 
rhythm  on  the  modulator  and  sung  to  the  notes,  phrase  by 
phrase.  The  next  step  is  to  have  the  tune  sung  from  the 
copy,  iisiug  such  syllables  as  loo,  lah,  etc. 

The  words  will  then  be  studied,  being  slowly  read 
aloud  three  or  four  times.  The  music  and  words  will 
then  be  conjoined,  no  notice  being  taken  at  this  stage  of 
expression  marks.  These  will  be  observed  when  all  other 
difficulties  have  been  surmounted. 

14.  The  music  lesson  is  perhaps  the  one  opportunity  for 

relaxing,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  rigid  bonds 

Conduct  of  the  ^  aisci])line.  Of  course,  during  the  period 
Music  Lesson.  ^  '      .       ^         .  ^       , 

devoted  to  modulator  and  other  exercises  the 

or<linary  strict  difccipliue  must  be  maintained,  Init  in  that 


TllH    TEACHING    Oh'    MVStC.  "Jlo 

part  of  the  lesson  given  up  to  songs  a  little  more  '  free 
and  easy '  atmosphere  may  prevail.  The  pupils  may  l)e 
encouraged  to  choose  their  own  songs  and  to  offer  sugges- 
tions for  their  l)etter  rendering  ;  generally  speaking,  the 
teacher  and  children  may  co-operate  on  more  equal  terms 
than  is  desirable  at  other  times. 

15.  In  these  days  of  school  visits  to  museums,  a  plea 

might  be  entered  for  an  occasional  visit  of 
Concerts  '^  music  class    to    a    good   concert.     School 

children  as  a  rule  seldom  get  the  opportunity 
of  hearing  better  nmsic  than  they  themselves  produce; 
hence  they  have  no  standard  of  excellence  by  which  they 
can  measiu-e  their  own  performance.  If  a  teacher  is 
fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  arrange  for  such  a  visit,  he 
shoidd  give  his  class  beforehand  a  preliminary  explana- 
tion of  the  chief  features  of  the  programme,  otherwise  the 
uufamiliarity  of  the  Avhole  performance  will  engender  a  feel- 
ing of  wonderment  rather  than  one  of  unalloyed  pleasure. 

16.  We    Avill    conclude    by     giving    the  outline    of     a 

suitable  coiu-se  in  music  for  the  priuiarv 
School  Course        i       i        m  •  - 1  \l      ^i " 

in  Music.  school.       This    course     assumes     that     the 

'  Movable  Doh  '  system  is  adopted.     It  will 

also  serve,  mutatis  mutandis,  if  either  the    Staff   or    the 

Sol-Fa  system  be  exclusively  adhered  to. 

First  Year's  Course. 
(i)  Breathing  exercises.^ 

(ii)  The  notes  of  the  major  scale  to  be  taken  consecu- 
„.  tively  and   then  in  short  phrases  :  i.e.    the 

scale  d  r  mf  s  1 1  d^  is  first  to  be  learnt  by 
ear,  tlien  shown  on  the  modulator.     Then  short  phrases 
such  as  d  r  iii,  s  J  t  d\  are  to  be  taken,  upwards  and  doAvn- 
warils.     No  skips  to  be  taken  at  this  stage. 
'  See  pp.  203-5. 


2l4  THE    TEACHING    OF    MUSld. 

(iii)   Ear  exercises  founded  on  the  above, 
(iv)  The  notes  of  the  common  chord  d  m  s  d'  to  be  learnt 
after  the  work  indicated  in  (ii)  has  been  mastered.     This 

chord  should  be  taught  thus  :  d  r  m,  d  m  (several  times)  ; 

then  drmfs,ds;  and  so  on. 

Some  teachers  make  the  mistake  of  taking  this  chord 
before  the  notes  of  the  scale ;  this  is  wrong,  because  nearly 
every  child  will  have  heard  the  scale  frequently  outside  the 
school,  whereas  the  arpeggio  is  not  Hkely  to  be  at  all 
familiar.  The  exercises  should  be  varied  as  far  as  possible, 
and  rhythm  introduced  into  them  as  soon  as  opportunity 
offers.  Monotony  in  the  exercises  is  more  difficult  to  guard 
against  at  this  stage  than  at  any  time. 

(v)  Ear  exercises  founded  on  this  chord. 

(vi)  Simple   rhythms   of   two   or   three-pulse    measure 

(  ,    or   ,  time)  not  containing  subdivided  beats.    The  class 

should  invariably  beat  time  while  singing  these  rhythms 
and  the  first  beat  of  every  bar  should  be  strongly  accented. 
The  exercises  should  at  first  be  sung  to  the  time-names, 
afterwards  to  one  syllable  as  doli.  Occasionally  short 
sentences  may  be  fitted  to  the  rhythms,  e.g. 


4       ^      »    1    (iP    !     •      •    I    (^ 

Nel    -    ly  liligh       caught     a  fly 


Every  rhythm  when  learnt  should  be  clothed  with  a  simple 
melodic  outline. 

(vii)  Meaning  of  the  terms  p,  /,  mf. 

(viii)  Songs. — In  the  first  and  second  years  these  should 
be  learnt  by  ear,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  the  easier 
phrases  should  not  be  analysed  by  the  class  and  used  as 
ear  or  modulator  tests.  The  songs  chosen  should  be  of 
simple   melodic   and    rhythmic    outline   and    of   moderate 


THK    TEACHINO    OF    MUSIC.  215 

compass.  The  words  should  be  selected  with  care,  regard 
being  paid  to  the  limited  compreheusiou  of  children  of  this 
age.  Nursery  rhymes  are  excellent  for  the  purpose : 
musically,  the  old  tunes  are  of  a  high  order  of  merit,  and. 
do  not  require  an  accompaniment.  Moreover,  they  form 
excellent  melodies  for  use  during  musical  drill.  There 
is  nothing  better  than  musical  drill  to  foster  a  sense  of 
rhythm.     Action  songs  are  also  commendable. 

Second  Year's  Course. 

Many  of  the  remarks  made  upon  tlie  first  year's  course 
are  applical>le  here — e.g.  it  will  be  assumed 
that  breathing  exercises  will  be  continued 
throughoiit  the  whole  period  of  the  child's  school  life. 

(1)  The  Major  Scale,  including  easy  intervals  of  a  third, 
and  leaps  to  the  key-note  from  any  other  note  of  the  scale. 
These  intervals  should  be  taught  by  the  same  method  as 
that  suggested  above.  Thus,  d  r  mf;  d  f.  The  compass 
may  be  increased  so  as  to  include  /,  and  m'. 

(ii)  Ear  exercises  as  before. 

(iii)  Khythmic  exercises  as  in  the  first  year's  course,  but 

4    . 
including    ,   time  and  containing  sub-divisions  of  either  of 

the  unaccented  beats  into  halves,  and  introducing  rests  of 
one  beat.  Also  simple  rhythms  are  to  be  written  down 
when  sung  by  the  teacher.  This  dictation  of  rhythms  to 
be  continued  in  the  third  and  subsequent  years'  courses. 

(iv)  Meaning  of  such  terms  as  rail.,  cresc,  dim.,  etc. 

(v)  Unison  songs,  still  of  a  simple  character  and  learnt 
by  ear. 

(vi)  Simple  three-part  rounds,  if  the  class  finds  no 
especial  difficulty  thei'cin  ;  otherwise  these  can  be  post- 
poned until  the  tliird  year. 


2l6  the  teaching  of  music. 

Thikd  Yeak's  Couese. 

(i)  Major  scales  begiamiug  ou  a  high  or  low   key-uote. 

Introduction  of  fe  and  ta.     More  difficult 
Third  Yecai.         .    ,  -. 

intervals. 

(ii)  Ear  exercises  on  the  al>ove. 

(iii)  Simple  two-part  harmonies  founded  on  the  common 
chord  of  the  tonic. 

(iv)  Rhythmic  exercises  comprising  more  difficult  varia- 
tions of  the  exercises  included  in  the  previous  year's  course, 
and  introducing  rests  of  two  ])eats'  duratiou,  tied  notes, 

and  the  rhythm    !  ^    j    (taa-aatai),  wliich  should  be  taught 

through  these  stages,     I       I    J ,  then   J     ^1    J  -  =iii<^  iiually 
I        i'^  .     Pupils  should   be  asked  to  invent  rhythm  for 

themselves. 

(v)  Meaning  of  a  few  more  technical  terms. 

(vi)  Unison  songs,  the  simplest  of  which  should  be 
learnt  from  the  notes.  The  re^iertoire  should  be  more 
extensive  in  this  and  subsequent  years. 

(vii)  Eounds  in  three  parts. 


Fourth  Year's  Course. 

(i)  Introduction  into  the  major  scale  of  ae  and  re  through 
the  phrases    I  se  I  and  m  re  m. 
Fourth    ear.  ^^^_^  melodic  minor  scale  in  simple  phrases. 

Modulation  into  the  first  sharp  key. 

(ii)   Ear  tests  founded  on  the  above. 

(iii)  Simple  harmonic  exercises  in  three  parls,  founded 
on  tlie  common  chords.  Each  chor«l  to  be  sung  separately 
and  considerably  prolonged. 


THK    TEACHING    OF    MTTSIC.  217 

(iv)  Thu  rhythmic  work  of  the  preceding  years  with  the 
■  addditiou   of  g  time.     Division   of   the  unaccented  beats 

2    3         4 
°^  4'  4'  ^^  4  time  into  thirds  (taa-taUee) .     The  rhythms 

should  not  invariably  begin  on  the  first  beat  of  a  bar. 

(v)  Extension  of  vocabulary  of  technical  terms. 

(vi)  Several  unison  songs  to  be  learnt  as  recreation,  also 
a  detailed  study  made  of  one  or  two  songs  of  a  more  com- 
plex character  in  two  parts. 

(vii)  Eounds  in  three  parts. 

Fifth  Year's  Course. 

(i)  Introduction  of  the  remaining  notes  of  the  chro- 
Fifth  Year  ^^'^tic  scale.  More  diflficult  passages  in  the 
minor  mode.  Leaps  to — not  from — chro- 
matically altered  notes  of  the  major  scale.  Modulation 
into  the  first  sharp  or  flat  remove. 

(ii)   Ear  tests  founded  on  the  above. 

(iii)  More  extended  harmonic  exercises  in  three  parts 
founded  on  the  common  chords.  A  succession  of  these 
chords  to  be  made  into  a  short  phrase. 

(iv)  Rhythmic  exercises  as  in  previous  years,  with  the 

addition  of  g  time,  which  should  at  first  be  sung  slowly 

with  six  beats  in  a  bar,  afterwards  as  compound  time 
(two  beats  in  a  bar).  The  division  of  a  beat  into  quarters, 
also  into  i^  -f  i  -f  a  and  f  -f  i.  Rests  of  the  duration  of 
a  half- beat. 

The  exercises  should  be  now  more  extended,  say  to  eight 
bars,  and  many  excellent  examples  can  be  found  in  the 
simpler  instrumental  works  of  the  great  Masters.  The 
melodies  in  each  case  should  be  played  or  sung  after  the 
rhythms  have  been  learnt. 


218  THE    TEACHING    OP    MUSIC, 

(v)  Songs.  Books  of  words  such  as  Gaudeannts^ 
should  be  provided  and  a  liberal  selection  made.  The- 
tune  can  be  written  on  the  blackboard  and  learnt  there- 
from, without  making  any  detailed  analysis.  For  more 
careful  study,  three  or  four  good  classical  songs  in  two 
parts  can  be  taken. 

(vi)  Eounds  in  three  parts. 

Sixth  Year's  Course. 

(i)   A  revision  of  the  melodic  work  of  preceding  years, 

also  the  harmonic  form  (/  se  I)  of  the  minor 

scale.    The  reading  of  simple  tunes — melody 

and  rhythm— at  first  sight. 

(ii)   Ear  tests  as  before,  and  recognition  of  the  intervals 

of  the  perfect  fifth  and  octave,  and  of  the  third  and  sixth 

when  both  notes  are  sounded  together. 

(iii)  Harmonic  exercises  as  in  the  fifth  year,  but  with 

phrases  more  extended. 

4  9  2    3  4 

(iv)  Q  and  n  time;  also  ^,  ^  and  „  •     The  pupils  can  be 

encouraged  to  invent  simple  melodies  to  the  given  rhythms, 
always  beginning  and  ending  on  the  key  note,  and  avoiding 
a  succession  of  large  skips.  Moi-e  difiicult  rhythms  from 
classical  works.  The  connection  betv/een  poetical  metre 
and  musical  rhythm  to  be  shown  and  the  class  invited  to 
invent  rhythms  corresponding    to    given  poetical  metres. 

Two-part  varied  rhythms  simg  by  the  divided  class  to 

or  "!  [  .     The  writing  of  rhythms  of  well-known  tunes. 

(v)  The  meaning  of  other  technical  terms, 
(vi)   Rounds  in  three  and  four  parts. 

'  I'ublished  liy  Cassell  and  Co. 


tHK    tEAOHING    OF    MTTSlC.  219 

(vii)  A  demonstration  of  the  construction  of  the  piano 
and  the  principles  underlying  it. 

(viii)  More  songs  from  Gatideamus,  with  one  or  two 
classical  two-part  songs. 

Skventh  Year's  Course. 

(i)  Reading  exercises  as  before,  with  easy  examples  in 

.,  «.  two  parts  to  be  sung  at  first  sight. 

Seventh  Year.  ..  *  ° 

(n)  Writing  down,  first   in  rhythm   and 

then  completely,  the  melody  of  any  well-known  tune.  The 
three  chief  chords  of  the  scale  to  be  recognised  when  played. 
Writing  down  a  short  simple  melodic  phrase  as  dictated. 

(iii)  Harmonic  exercises  as  before,  but  inclusive  of  four- 
part  chords,  which  must  be  chosen  with  due  regard  to 
compass. 

12  6 

(iv)     o    and  ^  time  and  examples  of   varied   rhythms 

from  classical  works.     Three-part  mixed  rhythms  sung  to 

m  >  .  Rests  of  less  than  a  half-beat,  and  more  intricate 
d) 

sub-divisions  of  a  beat. 

(v)  Meaning  of  the  remaining  technical  terms  in  com- 
mon use,  especially  of  the  '  Sequence.' 

(vi)  Some  acquaintance  can  be  made  with  folk-songs  of 
the  British  Isles.  Two-part  and  perhaps  three-part  songs 
for  study  from  Mendelssohn,  Rubenstein,  and  other 
classical  composers.  There  should  now  be  one  or  two 
pupils  capable  of  singing  a  solo  in  the  '  recreative  '  songs  ; 
variety  can  be  thus  ensiu-ed  by  adopting  the  principle  of 
solo  and  chorus. 

(vii)   Rounds  in  three  and  four  parts. 

(viii)  One  or  two  object  lessons  on  the  viohn  and  the 
human  voice. 


220 


THE    TEACHING    OE    MUSIC. 


2/- 

(Xovello). 

2/6  (Curwen). 

1/- 

(Curwen). 

1/6 

(Curwen). 

■^h 

(Nuvello). 

1/- 

(Curwen). 

1/- 

(Curwen). 

2/- 

(Vincent). 

3d. 

(Vincent). 

6cl. 

(Vincent). 

1/6  (Curwen). 

2/- 

(Curwen). 

•2/- 

(Vincent). 

8d. 

(Wynian). 

The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  : — 
On  the  Teaching  of  Music  : 

Bates  :  The  Child's  Voice      

Curwen:  The  Boy's  Voice  ... 
Hardy  :  Children's  Voices  ... 
Behnke  :  The  Human  Voice... 

[A  physiological  work.] 
Hulbert :  Breathing  for  Voice  Production 
Curwen  :  Companion  for  Teachers  ... 
Birch  :  The  Voice  Trainer     ... 
Richardson:  Choir  Training 
White  :  Hints  to  Singers 
Marshall  :  Five  Minutes'  Exercises 

Cm-wen  :  How  to  Read  Music         

Somervell  :  Fifty  Steps  in  Sight  Singing  ... 
Shinn  :  P]lementary  Ear  Training    ... 
Board  of  Education   Suggestions :   pp.  70- 
73;  127-135 '      

Some  Collections  of  School  Music  (out  of  manij). 

Stainer  :  School  Round  Book  8d.   (Novello). 

Stanford:  National  Song  Book         ...         ...     y/-    (Boosej'). 

[Edition  with  Words  and  Voice  Parts  only,  1,'-.] 
Sawyer  :  Graded  School  Song  Book  ...     2/-    (Vincent). 

Nicholson  :  British  Songs  for  British  Boys     6/-    (Macmillan). 

[Edition  for  Pupils,  1,6  ;  Words  onlj-,  ("id.] 
Baring-Gould    and    Sharp  :    English    Folk 

Songs  for  Schools     ...         ...         ...         ...     2/G   (Curwen). 

Hadow  :  Songs  of  the  British  Islands        ...     2/6   (Curwen). 
Moffat  and    Kidsou :    Children's   Songs   of 

Long  Ago      ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     2/-    (Augener), 

Brahms  :  Nursery  Songs       Gd.  (Novellcj). 

[Unison  :  fur  Junior  Clas-ses.] 
Cornelius:  Six  Christmas  Songs      ...         ...     6d.   (Novello). 

[Unison  :  for  Senior  Classes  :  accompaniment  indispensable.] 
Delacroze  :  Children's  Songs:  2  vols.,  each     .3/-    (Breitkopf 

[Edition,  melodic?  only,  Gd.  ;  Sol-fa,  4d.]  and  Hiirtcl). 

[Heconimcnded  for  Junior  riasises  and  School  Concerts.] 

Teachers  are  advised  to  subscribe  to  the  School  Music  Trnch'r  and 
The  Musical  Herald. 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTOHY. 

1.  Tn   1899  a  Committee    appoiutcd    by  the  American 

Historical    Association    to    investigate    the 

State  of  His-      study  of  history  in  schools  reported  that  in 

tory  Teaching     -r^      ^      -,,,.■,      "^       ,         ..       i  i      <•     . 

in  England.         -Lngiaud     the  most  noticeable  reatiires  are 

a  lack    of    historical  instruction,  a  common 

failure  to  recognise  the  value    of    history,  and  a  certain 

incoherence  and  general  confusion."     These  strictm-es  were 

only  too  "well  deserved.     In  tlie  great  public  schools  the 

introduction  of  history  as  a  definite  subject  of  instruction 

only  dates  from  Dr.  Arnold's  rule  at  Rugby  (1828-1842). 

In  the  primary  schools   history  was  practically  unknown 

before  1875,  though  here  and  there  a  school  had,  during  the 

previous  eight  yeais,  taken  it,  as  a  '  specific  '  subject,  with  a 

few  chosen  pupils.      In  1875  history  was  made  one  of  the 

optional  '  class '  subjects,  on  only  two  of    which    gi-ants 

could   be   earned ;  but  it  was  the   least  favoured  among 

those  subjects.    In  18i'9  the  official  returns  show  that  even 

of  schools  taking  such  subjects  only  about  25  per  cent. 

took  history,  whilst  95  per  cent,  chose  object  lessons,  75 

per  cent,  geography,  and  60  per  cent,  grammar.     In  the 

following    year    history    was    included    in    the    subjects 

commonly  to  be  taught  in  primary  schools. 

2.  This  historical  sketch  makes   it  plain  that  there  is 

much  less  tradition  about  the  teaching  of 
the'^Te'^cher^^     history  than  there  is  about  the  teaching  of 

most  of  the  other  subjects  included  in  the 
coui'se  of  study  of  the  primary  school.     This  has  both  its 

221 


222  THK    TEACHING    OF    HISTOEY. 

o-ood  and  its  bad  sides.  On  the  one  hand,  teachers  are  not 
habituated  to  mechanical  methods  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
many  teachers  are  not.  well  qualified  by  their  previous 
study  and  training  to  teach  a  subject  requiring  much 
special  knowledge.  In  France  and  Grermany  history  is 
taught  by  teachers  who  have  been  specially  prepared  for 
the  worlv,  and  it  would  be  well  if  this  plan  were  adopted 
in  England.  Still,  history  is  not  a  subject  requiring  such 
special  natural  gifts  as  do  music  and  drawing.  In  it, 
indeed,  almost  eveiy  teacher  who  makes  a  serious  effort 
may  become  reasonably  proficient.  The  effort,  moreover, 
brings  its  own  reward,  for  real  history  has  an  intrinsic  at- 
traction for  intelligent  minds.  It  is  because  many  teachers 
know  history  only  in  the  guise  of  an  inferior  school 
text-booli  that  the  subject  has  no  attraction  for  them, 
and  consequently  is  abhorred  by  their  pupils.  For  in 
historv,  even  more  than  in  most  subjects,  the  first  essen- 
tial is  a  well  prepared  and  stimulating  teacher.  It  is  not 
encyclopaeJic  knoAvledge  that  is  required,  but  a  sure  and 
intelligent  grasp  of,  and  an  insight  into,  the  meaning  of  great 
movements,  and  enough  knowledge  of  detail  to  be  able 
to  make  those  movements  real  to  the  imagination  both  of 
himself  and  of  his  pupils.  In  the  next  place,  sanity  and 
impartiality  of  judgment  are  essentials,  the  result  of 
practice  in  weighing  evidence  and  comparing  authorities. 
Add  to  tliis  the  power  of  raising  interest  and  enthusiasm 
by  striking  and  vivid  narrative  and  skilful  questioning, 
and  finally,  such  a  knowledge  of  books  and  of  the  best  ways 
of  using  them  as  will  enable  liim  to  train  his  pupils  in 
profitable  reading  for  themselves. 

As  the  last  two  powers  are  general  requirements  for 
fruitful  school  work,  it  \Ndll  be  sufficient  if  we  say  a  few 
words  on  the  first  two,  which  are  more  specifically  con- 
nected with  history-     The  teacher,  then,  wlio  knows  little 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  223 

history  canuot  prepare  for  his  history  teaching  all  at  once. 
He  must  read  real  books,  and  such  reading  takes  time.  So 
he  will  attempt  at  first  to  make  himself  proficient  in  a  few 
topics,  and  will  uicrease  the  number  year  by  year. 

After  assimilating  a  good  general  history  of  Europe, 
and  such  an  account  of  the  histoiy  of  his  own  country  as 
is  contained  in  Green's  SJiort  History  of  the  English  People, 
he  should  undertake  the  intensive  study  of  some  one 
period,  selecting  that  which  most  appeals  to  him.  On  this 
he  should  read  the  best  book  that  has  been  written,  a  book 
Avhich  is  at  once  history  and  literature.  When  this  has 
been  mastered  he  should  study  other  writers  who  deal 
with  the  same  movement  from  other  standpoints,  and 
compare  and  weigh  the  more  or  less  differing  opinions. 
Thus  he  will  learn  that  real  history  is  not  a  mere  record  of 
events,  but  an  insight  which  pierces  through  the  facts  to 
the  spiritual  forces  which  alone  give  them  significance,  and 
that  the  teaching  of  history  implies  a  power  of  leading 
others  to  share  in  this  insight.  He  should  then  read  at 
least  one  good  book  on  every  period  he  is  going  to  teach. 
Wherever  it  is  possible,  the  teacher  of  history  should 
attempt  some  piece  of  independent  work,  to  bring  home  to 
himself  more  clearly  what  history  really  means  and  how 
historical  knowledge  is  developed.  Most  profitably  may  he 
work  out  some  points  of  local  history,  which  will  alwavs 
give  colour  and  interest  to  his  teaching.  To  focus  the  re- 
sults of  his  study  he  will  do  well  to  write  careful  digests 
iu  a  series  of  note-books. 

By  such  a  course  of  study  a  teacher  will  fit  himself  by 
knowledge  to  teach  history  and  will  have  done  much  to 
train  his  own  judgment.  But  not  all  the  knowledge  he 
acquires  will  be  of  direct  service  in  his  teaching.  No  edu- 
cational heresy  is  more  deadly  than  that  the  teacher  need 
know  only  the  same  things,  or  the  same  kind  of  things, 


224  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

that  lie  teaches.  The  true  teacher  must  know  much  that 
he  does  not  teach ;  only  so  can  he  wisely  select  what  to 
teach,  and  having  selected  it,  make  it  live  in  the  minds 
of  his  pupils.  As  he  gets  a  living  idea  of  a  topic,  he  will 
select  what  he  shall  teach  about  that  topic.  He  will  do 
well  to  write  full  and  well  arranged  outlines  of  the  matter 
he  chooses,  on  the  right-hand  pages  of  a  manuscript  book, 
giving  exact  references  to  the  books  from  which  it  is 
drawn.  On  the  left-hand  pages  he  should  add  from  time 
to  time  notes  suggested  both  by  further  reading  and  by 
the  actual  giving  of  the  lessons.  In  all  subjects  this  plan 
is  helpful  and  is  some  safeguard  against  a  yearly  deteriora- 
tion of  a  set  of  lessons  from  living  forces  to  dead  and 
dry  forms.  But  in  no  subject  is  it  more  important  than  in 
history,  where  the  first  preparation  of  every  good  lesson  is 
a  woi'k  occupying  considerable  time. 

We  have  put  this  consideration  of  the  essential  qualifi- 
cations of  a  teacher  of  history  in  the  foreground  of  our 
discussion  because,  vmless  they  are  secured,  the  teaching  of 
the  subject  cannot  be  really  successful.  It  is  often  said 
that  children  dislike  history,  and,  indeed,  they  would  be 
either  more  or  less  than  human  if  they  did  not  dislike 
what  too  often  goes  under  its  name  in  schools.  But 
Vv'hen  taught  by  a  sympathetic  and  competent  teacher 
history  is  always  popular  with  the  pupils.  The  fault  is 
never  in  the  subject,  but  always  in  the  teacher.  All  children 
like  to  hear  stories  about  the  deeds  of  other  human  beings, 
and  after  the  first  few  years  of  life  they  prefer  true  stories 
to  fiction.  Moreover,  they  are  deeply  interested  in  learn- 
ino-  how  things  came  to  be  what  they  are.  In  no  subject, 
indeed,  is  it  more  possible  to  rouse  a  living  interest  that  will 
persist  long  after  school-days  are  over,  and  so  continue  not 
only  to  be  a  m(?ans  for  the  rational  employment  of  leisure^, 
but  an  en'luring  formative  influence  on  tljought  and  life.- 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  225 

3.  AVliat  function,  then,    sliould   the  study   of  history 

fulfil  in  life  ?     History  is  said  by  Stubbs  to 

Function  of       |jq  ««  i\^q  kuowledge   of   the  adventures,  the 

the  Study  of        ,       ,  ,    .1       ,  ,.  ,  ,,  .    ■, 

History.  development,  the  changeiul  career,  the  varied 

growths,  the  ambitions,  aspirations,  and,  if 
you  like,  the  approximating  destinies  of  mankind."^  The 
result  of  the  study  of  the  great  world  movements  of  the 
past  should  be  to  give  an  insight  which  cannot  otherwise 
be  attained  into  the  conditions  of  society  at  the  present. 
Thus,  the  study  of  history  should  help  the  individual  to 
understand  the  human  world  in  which  he  lives  so  far  as  it 
is  organised  into  states  and  smaller,  but  in  some  respects 
similar,  corporations.  But  of  this  world  the  individual 
forms  a  constituent  part,  and  he  is  what  he  is  through  his 
relations  to  the  rest  of  society.  Hence,  in  vmderstanding 
society  he  understands  himself  moi'e  fully,  and  gains  in- 
creased power  of  directing  his  owtl  life.  In  other  Avords  his 
power  of  judging  wisely  in  the  actual  situations  of  life 
is  trained,  and  at  the  same  time  made  surer,  by  the  clearer 
apprehension  of  the  meaning  of  the  facts  on  which  it  is  to 
be  exercised.  So  Stubbs  tells  us :  "  If  the  study  of  history 
can  really  be  made  an  educational  implement  in  schools,  it 
will  raise  up  a  generation  Avho  not  only  will  know  how  to 
vote,  but  will  bring  a  judgment,  prepared,  trained,  and  in 
its  own  sphere  exercised  and  developed,  to  help  them  in  all 
the  great  affairs  of  life."* 

Of  course,  mere  knowledge  of  past  events  will  not  do  this. 
History  must  be  made  a  reality,  a  study  of  the  actions  and 
motives  of  real  men  and  women  and  of  real  human  societies. 
And  it  must  be  brought  up  to  our  own  time  if  the  pupils 
are  to  feel  that  "  in  modern  history  . .  .  your  field  of  exami- 
nation is  the  living,  w^orking,  thinking,  growing  world  of 

*  Leclnres  on  iLediaeval  and  ]\[odern  History,  p.  So. 
-  Op.  cit.y  pp.  130-1. 
PE.  TG.  15 


226  THE    TEACHING   OF    HISTORY. 

to-day.  . .  .  Modern  history  is  the  history  of  ourselves,  of  the 
way  in  which  we  came  to  be  what  we  are,  of  the  education 
of  our  nation,  of  the  development  of  our  government,  of  the 
fortunes  of  our  fathers,  that  caused  us  to  be  taught  and 
governed  and  placed  as  we  are,  and  formed  our  minds  and 
habits  by  that  teaching,  government,  and  position." '  When 
a  living  knowledge  of  the  origin  and  mode  of  growth  of  in- 
stitutions is  thus  attained,  the  student  has  at  least  one 
essential  requisite  for  forming  a  judgment  as  to  the  kind 
of  change  that  is  desirable,  and  has  some  qualification  for 
estimating  the  probable  consequences  of  proposed  lines  of 
policy.  For  to  change  an  institution  Avisely  demands  a 
knowledge  of  its  nature,  the  roots  of  which  are  in  the  past, 
and  which  has  gradually  changed  and  developed  to  its  pre- 
sent form  with  the  lapse  of  time. 

It  is  seen,  then,  that  the  study  of  history  should  serve 
the  very  practical  end  of  developing  both  knowledge  and 
judgment  in  the  conduct  of  social  and  public  life — no  small 
thing  in  a  democratic  State.  It  thus  has  both  an  ethical 
and  a  patriotic  influence.  But  the  direct  purpose  of  the 
teacher  should  not  be  to  inculcate  either  private  morals  or 
patriotism,  for  to  do  either  with  effect  frequently  demands 
a  distortion  of  the  facts,  and  the  very  first  moral  lesson 
derived  from  history  should  be  a  love  of  truth.  "  I  think," 
says  Dr.  Stubbs,  "  that  there  are  few  lessons  more  neces- 
sary for  men  to  learn,  not  merely  who  are  going  to  take  to 
public  life,  but  who  are  going  to  live  and  move  as  men 
among  their  fellows,  than  these : — that  there  are  few  ques- 
tions on  which  as  much  may  not  be  said  on  one  side  as  on 
the  other :  that  there  are  none  at  all  on  which  all  the  good 
are  on  one  side,  all  the  bad  on  the  other,  or  all  the  wise  on 
one  and  all  the  fools  on  the  other :  ...  to  learn  that  simple 
assertion  however  reiterated  can  never  make  proof :  . . . 
>  Stubbs,  02J.  cit.,  1)1)    16,  18. 


THE    TEACHING    OP    HISTORY.  227 

above  all,  that  no  material  success,  no  energy  of  develop- 
ment, no  eventual  progress  or  consolidation,  can  atone  for 
the  mischief  done  by  one  act  of  falsehood,  treachery  or 
cruelty."' 

Moral  judgments  are  most  effectively  and  easily  passed 
on  the  conduct  of  individuals,  and  this  is  most  surely 
examined  in  fiction  or  in  biography.  In  history  we  are 
interested  in  individuals  only  so  far  as  they  express  or  in- 
fluence their  age;  the  real  objects  of  our  study  are  not 
individual  lives,  but  the  general  tendencies  of  life,  and  the 
ideas  which  find  expression  in  world  movements.  In  tliese 
the  individual,  leader  though  he  may  be,  is  typical  and 
representative,  and  not  infrequently  sees  but  impei-fectly 
the  tendency  of  his  own  actions.  The  judgment  of  pos- 
terity on  the  value  of  great  movements  to  the  life  of  the 
world  or  of  the  nation  is  frequently  different  from  that  of 
the  actors  in  those  movements.  Hence  it  is  that  "  history 
is  very  impatient  of  direct  morals.  Its  teaching  is  to  be 
found  in  large  tendencies."* 

But  it  is  often  urged,  especially  in  Germany,  that  if  the 
function  of  the  teaching  of  history  is  not  directly  to  incul- 
cate moral  lessons,  it  shovdd,  nevertheless,  definitely  address 
itself  to  the  development  of  patriotism.  But  when  this  is 
made  the  direct  aim  there  is  great  danger  lest  the  patriotism 
be  of  that  spurious  type  which  consists  in  upholding  as  right 
and  just  all  the  native  country  has  done  in  the  past  or  is 
proposing  to  do  in  the  present,  and  Avhich  manifests  itself 
mainly  in  shouting  and  in  other  forms  of  publicly  adver- 
tising the  feelings.  There  has  been  much  to  be  regretted 
in  the  past  history  of  every  nation,  and  true  patriotism 
does  not  consist  in  ignoring  this,  or  in  distorting  the  facts 
so  as  to  make  the  worse  appear  the  better  cause,  but  in 
'  Op.  cit.,  p.  20. 
*  Creighton,  Historical  Lectures  and  Addresses,  p.  '264. 


228  THE    TEACHING    OP    HISTORY. 

endeavouring  to  discover  the  noblest  ideas  which  have  been 
operative  in  the  national  life  and  to  promote  the  future 
dominance  of  such  ideas.  The  time  patriot  is  he  "who  does 
his  duty  manfully  in  both  the  public  and  the  private  rela- 
tions of  life,  not  he  who  most  persistently  blows  the 
trumpet  of  self-glorification  or  beats  the  drum  of  ostenta- 
tious advertisement. 

That  the  study  of  such  a  past  history  as  that  of  our 
own  country  will  tend  to  develop  this  true  patriotism 
is  doubtless  true,  for,  as  Lord  Avebury  says  :  "  If  ever 
there  was  a  country  for  which  a  man  might  work 
with  pride,  surely  it  is  our  oavh.  ...  In  our  history  there 
has,  no  doubt,  been  much  to  regret.  But  yet,  as  con- 
trasted Avith  that  of  other  nations,  it  has  been  compara- 
tively bloodless. .  . .  When,  indeed,  we  look  back  on  the 
whole  history  of  the  past,  it  is  not,  I  think,  too  much  to 
say  that  our  country  has  exercised  its  great  trust  in  a  wise 
and  hberal  spirit."^  That  such  a  true  patriotism — a  love 
of  country  which  is  not  a  mere  foolish  partiality,  bhnd  to 
all  faults  in  its  idol,  but  a  rational  recognition  that,  on  the 
whole,  the  good  elements  predominate  and  that  it  is  the 
part  of  all  true  citizens  to  help  to  right  the  wrongs  in 
national  life,  not  to  deny  their  existence — is  worthy  of 
cultivation  all  must  acknowledge.  It  is  based  on  justice, 
not  on  narrow  prejudice;  it  recognises  the  rights  of 
other  nations,  and  may  impel  a  man  to  resist  a  general 
popular  movement  when  he  believes  it  to  be  repugnant  to 
the  highest  ideals  and  best  interests  of  his  country.  Such 
a  true  patriotism  can  only  be  the  outcome  of  a  study  of 
history  which  aims  solely  at  reaching  the  truth  about 
events,  of  understanding  the  tendencies  of  which  those 
events  were  signs,  and  of  estimating  the  value  of 
those  tendencies.  "The  real  imperial  spirit,"  says  Lord 
'  7Vte  Utit  of  Life,  Chap.  X. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  229 

Avebury,  "  is  not  oue  of  vaingloiy,  but  of  just  pride  in  the 
extension  of  our  language  and  literature ;  of  our  people, 
and  our  commerce,  on  land  and  sea ;  and  a  deep  sense  of 
the  great  responsibility  thus  imposed  upon  us."' 

We  agree,  then,  with  MM.  Langlois  and  Seignobos  when 
they  write :  "  We  no  longer  go  to  history  for  lessons  in 
morals,  nor  for  good  examples  of  conduct,  nor  yet  for 
dramatic  or  picturesque  scenes.  We  understand  that  for 
all  these  purposes  legend  would  be  preferable  to  history, 
for  it  presents  a  chain  of  causes  and  effects  more  in  accord- 
ance with  our  ideas  of  justice,  more  perfect  and.  heroic 
characters,  finer  and  more  affecting  scenes.  Nor  do  we 
seek  to  use  history,  as  is  done  in  Grermany,  for  the  purpose 
of  promoting  patriotism  and  loyalty ;  we  feel  that  it  would 
be  illogical  for  different  persons  to  draw  opposite  con- 
clusions from  the  same  science  according  to  their  country 
or  party  ;  it  would  be  an  invitation  to  every  people  to 
mutilate,  if  not  to  alter,  history  in  the  direction  of  its 
preferences.  We  understand  that  the  value  of  every 
science  consists  in  its  being  true,  and  we  ask  from  history 
ti-uth  and  nothing  more."* 

But  though  we  seek  directly  neither  to  teach  morals 
nor  to  inculcate  patriotism,  yet  we  may  look,  as  has  been 
shown,  for  an  effect  on  life  in  the  direction  both  of  morality 
and  of  patriotism.  The  point  is  that  such  an  effect  should 
come  as  an  indirect  result,  that  it  should  not,  by  being 
made  the  dominating  purpose,  decide  what  shall  be  taught 
and  the  light  in  which  it  shall  be  presented. 

The  whole  discussion  may  be  summed  up  in  the  words 
of  M.  Lavisse,  simply  sul)stitutiug  '  England '  and  '  Eng- 
lishman '  for  '  France '  and  '  Frenchman.'  He  says :  "  To 
give  the  pupil  an  exact  idea  of  the  successive  civilisations 

» Ibid. 

"^  Introduction  to  the.  Study  of  Ilidory,  Eng.  trans.,  \>.  S,31. 


230  THE    TEACHING   OF    BISTORT. 

of  the  world  and  definite  knowledge  of  the  formation  and 
o-rowth  of  Fi-ance ;  to  show  him  the  action  of  the  world  on 
our  country  and  of  our  country  on  the  world  ;  to  teach  him 
to  render  to  all  peoples  their  just  dues,  to  widen  the  horizon 
of  his  mind,  and  finally  to  leave  him  in  possession  not  only 
of  an  understanding  of  the  present  condition  of  his  country 
and  of  the  world,  but  also  of  a  clear  notion  of  his  duties  as 
a  Frenchman  and  as  a  man — such  is  the  function  of  his- 
tory in  education."^ 

4.  To  grasp  the  true  nature  of  history  and  the  influence 
it  exercises  on  life  is  to  recognise  that  its 
Place  of  History  gtudy  requires  a  certain  development  both 
s'chool.^""'^'^^  of  experience  and  of  mental  power.  Into 
the  (deeper  and  broader  problems  of  history, 
indeed,  the  prnnary  school  can  at  no  time  pretend  to  enter. 
But  it  should  treat  the  history  it  does  teach  in  such  a  way 
as  to  form  a  permanent  tendency  to  pursue  the  study  on 
the  lines  we  have  indicated.  This  planting  and  early  nur- 
ture of  a  genuine  interest  in  history,  and  not  the  memo- 
rising of  nimierous  statements  of  fact,  is  the  true  aim  of 
the  teaching.  But  this  treatment  cannot  profitably  be 
begun  until  the  pupil  is  sufiiciently  mature  to  have  some 
power  of  estimating  the  lapse  of  time,  a  fair  general  know- 
ledge of  the  meaning  of  geography,  and  a  sufficiency  of  the 
kind  of  material  which  he  must  re-arrange  in  his  imagi- 
nation in  order  that  the  past  may  be  a  living  reality  to 
him  and  not  a  mere  set  of  empty  phrases.  Such  maturity 
is  not  reached  before  about  the  twelfth  year  of  age. 
Consequently,  the  real  study  of  history  will  not  begin 
l)efore  the  fifth  year  in  the  senior  school.  In  the  earlier 
years  the  teacher  should  simply  attempt  to  prepare  the 
way  by  broadening  the  outlook  of  the  children  on  life 

^  A  2'>'opos  de  nos  ecoles,  p.  81. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORT.  231 

through  story  growing  more  and  more  of  the  nature  of 
history. 

5.  During  the  first  two  years  of  school  life  this  work  will 

be  merged  in  literatiu-e,  which  amongst  its 
Course.^  °^^       material  will  include  myth  and  legend  cvilled 

from  all  countries  and  all  tribes,  and  largely 
chosen  on  the  basis  of  clearness  of  revelation  of  the  life  of 
motive  and  the  residts  of  simple  virtues  and  vices.  Such 
stories  exercise  the  children's  fancy,  and  at  the  same  time 
furnish  the  simplest  material  for  the  general  attempts  of 
the  young  mind  to  find  a  connection  in  life.  The  lesson 
for  Hfe  should  not  be  elaborated  or  insisted  on ;  it  should 
be  felt  rather  than  formulated,  though  a  spontaneous 
expression  of  the  feeling  need  not  be  checked.  There  will 
be  no  attempt  at  locating  in  time  more  definite  than  the 
familiar  "  Once  upon  a  time." 

In  the  third  school  year  the  preparation  for  real  history 

should  gradually  become  more  definite.     The 

PrincTples  of       *^^J^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^^  ^  ^^'^^^^  ^  *^^^®  ^^^  history 
Selection.  'than  to  give  historical  knowledge,  for  unless 

such  a  taste  be  developed  all  future  efforts 
will  be  profitless.  But  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  taste  wanted  is  not  a  mere  desire  to  be 
amused  and  entertained  by  striking  and  attractive  stories, 
but  a  living  curiosity  to  know  more  of  persons  of  whom 
something  has  already  been  learnt,  and  of  events  in  which 
they  were  prominent  actors.  Thus,  the  selection  of  stories, 
should  not  be  determined  primarily  by  the  children's 
immediate  likings,  though  the  teacher  Avill  reject  any  that 
will  not  appeal  to  their  imagination  and  sympathy.  As 
Dr.  Oppenheim  remarks :  "  There  is,  as  a  rule,  but  little 
reliance  to  be  put  upon  a  child's  natural  taste.  There  is 
no  more  reason  why  he  should  know  what  is  best  for  his 
intellectual   welfare   than   that  he   should   spontaneously 


232  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

I'ecoguise  what  is  Lis  most  advantageous  food."^  It  is  the 
teacher's  fvmction  to  develop  aud  train  interests  in  relation 
to  purposes,  not  to  pander  to  childish  caprices  which  lead 
nowhere  beyond  themselves.  To  interest  a  child  in  his 
studies  is  every  good  teacher's  aim,  but  that  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  allowing  the  child's  various  likings  to 
decide  what  he  shall  learn.  The  latter,  indeed,  is  the 
surest  way  of  securing  that  the  child  will  grow  up  with 
no  stable  interests  and  no  serious  purposes.  We  try  to 
create  in  him  a  taste  for  history  because  we  recognise  the 
valuable  effect  well- studied  history  may  have  on  his  life, 
not  because  he  likes  to  hear  tales,  though  this  natural 
liking  gives  us  oui*  starting-point  with  him. 

The  preparation  for  history,  then,  should  begin  with 
stories,  because  the  young  child  can  be  interested  in  stories 
but  cannot  be  interested  in  real  history,  for  that  he  cannot 
understand.  But  the  selection  of  stories  should  be  de- 
termined by  a  consideration  of  the  course  in  history  he  is 
to  study  in  his  later  school  years.  The  stories  should  aim 
at  making  the  pupils  familiar  with  the  greatest  names  they 
■will  meet  with  in  that  course,  and  at  giving  them  general 
ideas  of  the  great  deeds  with  which  those  names  are  asso- 
ciated and  of  the  time  and  place  in  which  those  deeds  were 
wrought.  It  is  not  biography  in  the  proper  sense  of  the 
term — for  biography  treats  of  the  whole  life  of  its  subject — - 
so  much  as  a  vivid  personal  element  in  the  story  of  great 
eA^ents.  Only  those  biographical  details  should  be  given 
wliich  bring  out  the  relation  of  the  hero  to  the  events  in 
which  he  played  a  part.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
the  teaching  in  this  preparatory  course  is  anticipatory  of 
that  which  is  to  follow,  and,  consequently,  the  historical 
aspect  must  always  be  emphasised.  And  for  history,  as 
has  been  already  pointed  out,  individuals  are  important 
'  The  Development  of  the  Child,  pp.  104-5. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  233 

just  in  so  far  as  they  represent  movements  of  national  or 
of  general  human  life. 

As  the  pupils  pass  through  the  fourth  year  the  relations 
of  events  in  time  and  place  will  be  more  and  more  empha- 
sised. But  still  the  teaching  will  be  essentially  the  vivid 
narration  of  great  and  stirring  events,  though,  as  the 
pupils  advance  in  power  of  imagination  and  thought,  the 
personal  element  in  those  events  may  become  less  dominant 
than  in  the  earlier  stories.  The  course  may  be  likened  to 
beads  of  history  of  various  size  and  brilliancy  strung  on  a 
thin  siring  of  time  connection;  but  the  string  increases 
in  thickness  and  the  beads  are  more  obviously  held  together 
by  it  as  the  course  advances  towards  its  end. 

The  selection  of  stories  should,  then,  be  determined  by 
the  course  of  history  which  is  planned  for  the  fifth  and 
following  years  of  school  life.  The  preparatory  course 
should  develop  a  living  organ  of  learning — a  kind  of 
nervous  system  of  historical  knowledge  consisting  of  nuclei 
of  fuller  apprehension  of  important  persons  and  events 
connected  by  thin  fibres  of  general  time  and  place  rela- 
tions. 

Assuming  that  the  later  course  follows  the  general  lines 

laid  down  in  the  next  section,  the   centres 

Course.  ^^  instruction  will   be    drawn   from    Grreek, 

Roman,  and  general  later  European  historv, 

though  special  prominence  will  be  given  to  English  topics. 

The  stirring  stories  of  Thermopylae  and  Salamis  with 
their  glowing  lessons  in  true  patriotism  and  undaunted 
bi-avery,  such  heroes  of  old  Greek  life  as  Solon,  Leonidas, 
Themistocles,  and  Pericles,  set  in  pictures  of  daily  life  m 
the  Greece  of  their  day,  the  expeditions  and  victories  of 
Alexander,  will  furnish  delightful  instruction  to  children 
even  as  young  as  those  just  entering  on  their  third  school 
year,    for    the    life   is   simple   and   the   human   qualities 


234  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

empliasised  are  elementary  and   such  as  they  can  enter 
into  with  sympathy. 

Then  the  drama  shifts  to  Rome,  and  they  hear  the 
stories  of  such  heroes  as  Horatius  and  Cincinnatus,  of 
Hannibal  and  Scipio,  of  Caesar  and  Brutus.  They  wiU 
see  Rome  becoming  Christian,  will  trace  her  civiHsing 
presence  in  our  own  land,  and  learn  about  Boadicea  and 
Caractacus,  G-regory  the  Great  and  Augustine. 

Having  admired  and  wondered  at  Eome  in  her  greatness 
they  will  watch  her  fall,  hearing  of  Alaric  and  Attila  and 
the  barbarians  they  led.  This  will  lead  to  stories  of  the 
settlement  of  the  English  in  England,  and  they  will  become 
familiar  Avith  Egbert  and  Alfred.  They  wiU  compare 
Alfred  with  Charlemagne,  and  contrast  the  blessings  of 
settled  government  under  them  with  the  anarchy  which 
preceded  them.  They  will  watch  the  settlements  of  the 
Normans  in  Gaul  and  of  the  Danes  in  England,  and  will 
become  familiar  with  EoUo  and  Canute. 

Then  they  will  see  England  connected  with  the  Continent 
under  William,  and  they  will  hear  of  the  fateful  battle  of 
Hastings. 

The  stories  in  the  next  place  wiU  be  designed  to  give 
some  idea  of  the  two  great  factors  in  mediaeval  life — the 
Church  and  Feudalism.  The  pupils  wiU  be  told  of  Ansehn, 
Thomas  of  Canterbury,  William  of  Wykeham,  of  monas- 
teries and  friars,  of  the  building  of  churches  and  the 
founding  of  schools.  On  the  other  hand  they  wiU  hear  of 
life  in  castle  and  camp,  of  wars  between  nobles,  between 
king  and  nobles,  or  between  kings  and  kings,  each  centred 
round  such  typical  figures  as  Stephen,  John,  Edward  the 
First,  Wallace,  Bruce,  the  Black  Prince,  Henry  the  Fifth. 
They  will  be  taught  about  Mahomet  and  the  spread  of 
Mahometanism,  to  prepare  them  to  go  on  the  Crusades 
with  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  and  Richard  the  Lion-hearted, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  235 

aud  to  understand  sometliing  of  the  civilisation  of  the 
East,  of  which  Saladin  may  be  taken  as  the  type.  In 
"Wat  Tyler  they  will  see  another  and  a  darker  side  of 
Feudalism. 

In  preparation  for  the  disruption  of  the  mediaeval 
organisation  of  society  they  shoidd  hear  of  Caxton  and 
early  printing,  and  of  the  great  discoverers — Columhus, 
Vasco  da  Gama,  Cabot,  Balboa,  and  Magellan,  and  should 
follow  them  in  their  venturous  and  hazardous  voyages, 
tracing  their  courses  on  the  map.  They  should  go  with 
Cortez  to  Mexico  and  with  Pizarro  to  Peru,  they  should 
sail  the  Spanish  Main  with  Drake  and  Ealeigh.  But  little 
should  be  told  them  about  religious  disputes,  but  they 
must  hear  something  of  Wycliffe,  Luther,  Mary,  and 
Philip  the  Second  of  Spain.  Then  they  will  be  ready  to 
ficrht  with  the  English  in  the  Armada,  and  to  enter  into 
the  outburst  of  national  life  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth. 

They  will  next  learn  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  aud  of  the 
struggle  in  England  for  civil  and  religious  liberty,  hearing 
of  Charles  the  First  and  Cromwell.  Something,  too,  they 
may  well  know  of  France  and  Louis  the  Fourteenth. 

In  Clive  aud  Wolfe  they  will  see  typified  the  growth  of 
the  English  Empire,  whilst  Washington  represents  the 
heaviest  blow  that  Empire  has  ever  received  and  the  birth 
of  a  sister  English-speaking  State.  They  will  watch  the 
great  death  struggle  centred  round  the  heroic  figures  of 
Napoleon,  Nelson,  and  Wellington. 

In  the  quieter  walks  of  peace  they  will  learn  of  the 
great  inventions  of  the  last  century  and  a  half,  grouping 
them  round  Watt  and  Stephenson ;  they  will  follow  the 
progress  of  geographical  discovery  Avith  Cook,  Franklin, 
and  Livingstone;  they  will  share  Wilberforce's  struggle 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  hear  something  of  the 
same  movement  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


236  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORT. 

The  general  movemeuts  of  the  last  century  are,  however, 
too  complicated  to  be  understood  by  children  of  this  age, 
and  the  matter  appeals  but  faintly  to  their  imagination 
and  sympathies.  Less  direct  preparation  will,  therefore, 
be  given  for  the  later  study  of  this  period  than  for  that  of 
earlier  times. 

Such  a  scheme  of  work  is  only  put  forward  as  a  sug- 
gestion and  in  illustration  of  the  principles 
Tea^Cie  which  have  been  laid  down.    But  when  some 

such  course  is  followed  by  a  teacher  who  is 
really  competent  in  knowledge  and  stimulating  power  the 
children  at  the  end  of  their  fourth  year  are  both  ready  and 
anxious  to  enter  upon  the  more  serious  work  of  the  next 
course. 

The  teaching  must,  of  course,  be  oral,  though  some 
illustrative  reading  may  be  done  both  by  teacher  and  class. 
The  narrative  must  be  made  vivid  by  details  which  set  in 
rehef  the  main  j)oints  and  by  pictures  illustrating  in  a 
striking  way  the  events  narrated.  Dr.  Arnold,  indeed, 
recommended  that  the  earliest  lessons  should  be  based  on 
striking  and  suggestive  pictures.  These  should  be  in 
colour,  and  should  not  be  glaringly  inaccurate  in  the 
accessories  of  dress  and  surroundings,  nor  offensive  by 
their  want  of  artistic  quality.  But  the  main  thing  is  that 
they  should  arrest  attention  and  excite  curiosity,  and  this 
stimulating  power  must  not  be  sacrificed  either  for 
archaeological  precision  or  for  artistic  effect. 

Poetry  which  bears  on  any  of  the  topics  should  be 
freely  quoted,  read,  copied  out  by  the  children,  and,  if  it 
appeals  strongly  to  tlieni,  learnt  by  heart.  Beading 
books  which  illustrate  past  modes  of  life — such  as  Mr. 
Finnemore's  Boys  and  Girls  of  Other  Days^ — should  be 
read.  But  no  attempt  should  be  made  at  this  stage  to 
'  Published  by  Messrs.  A.  and  C.  Black. 


THE    TEACHING    OP    HISTORY.  237 

teach  history  from  books  or,  indeed,  to  read  books  Avhich  are 
histories  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term.  The  real  teach- 
ing is  by  means  of  oral  lessons,  and  to  that  all  else  is 
subsidiary. 

The  historical  stories  are,  however,  not  merely  to  be 
listened  to,  but  to  be  apprehended  and  remembered.  Tlie 
teacher  should,  therefore,  revise  regularly  and  thoroughly, 
taking  care  that  such  revisions  are  never  degraded 
into  bald  exercises  in  verbal  memory.  Let  him  call 
upon  individual  children  to  reproduce  orally  the  whole 
or  part  of  a  story,  to  answer  questions,  to  compare  one 
story  or  set  of  events  with  another.  Let  him  set  topics  for 
written  exercises,  encouraging  the  children  to  illustrate 
one  story  by  another,  and  let  him  carefully  go  through 
these  wi-itten  exercises  with  his  class.  Thus  history, 
literature,  and  language  teaching  are  made  to  illustrate 
and  help  each  other,  and  it  will  be  found  that  two  lessons 
a  week  will  be  sufficient  to  give  to  the  telling  of  historical 
stories. 

6.  When  we  turn  to  the  course  in  real  history  for  the 
upper  classes  we  are  obviously  met  by  the 
Selection  of  difficulty  of  selection  of  matter.  For  the 
History"^  number  of  facts  is  practically  infinite,  and 

the  field,  is  inexhaustible.  Happily,  most  of 
the  facts,  in  history  as  in  all  other  subjects,  are  in  them- 
selves worthless.  The  only  facts  we  want  are  those  which 
give  us  power,  those  we  can  use.  And  in  history  this 
means  the  facts  which  bring  home  to  us,  and  help  us  to 
realise,  the  great  movements  of  the  past. 

It  is   commonly  held  that  in  the  primary  school   the 

„  teaching  must  be  limited  to  Encjlish  history. 

Scope.  *      •  1  •      • 

Agamst  this  view  we  would  urge  that  when 

history  is  tluis  restricted,  the  English  history  itself  be- 
comes largely  imintelligible.    As  well  might  one  try  to  give 


238  THE    TEACHINa    OF    HISTORY. 

a  compreliensible  account  of  a  man's  life  by  ignoring  his 
surroundings.  How  can  such  a  life  be  understood  if  we 
know  nothing  of  the  people  or  circumstances  which  influ- 
ence him,  with  which  he  strives,  through  relation  to  which 
he  is  what  he  is  ?  And  it  is  the  same  with  the  life  story  of 
a  nation.  Like  the  individual  its  life  takes  its  filling  and 
its  meaning  from  its  relations  with  the  rest  of  mankind. 

What  understanding  can  one  who  knows  nothing  of  the 
Catholic  Church  have  of  England  in  the  Middle  Ages? 
What  meaning  can  be  found  in  the  wars  with  France  or 
Scotland  by  one  who  is  ignorant  of  feudal  institutions  ? 
And  both  the  Church  and  Feudalism  bound  civilised 
Europe  into  one  organic  whole.  In  later  times  who  can 
find  a  clue  to  the  wars  which  fill  so  much  of  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries  when  his  outlook  is  bounded  by 
the  confines  of  his  own  country  ?  And  let  us  remember 
that  the  unintelligible  is  devoid  of  interest.  May  not 
much  of  the  want  of  success  in  exciting  the  pupils'  interest 
which  is  so  often  and  so  truly  charged  against  the  teaching 
of  history  in  English  schools  be  due  to  this  very  limitation  ? 
We  firmly  believe  that  it  is  so.  With  all  the  great  masters 
of  history,  then,  we  would  urge  that  this  restriction  be  not 
attempted.  True  it  is  that  tlie  emphasis  will  be  laid  on 
our  own  country,  that  we  shall,  indeed,  teach  the  history 
of  other  lands  mainly  with  the  view  of  making  that  of  our 
own  land  intelligible,  but  this  intelligibility  is  not  to  be 
attained  by  mere  isolated  and  incidental  references  to  the 
course  of  national  life  outside  our  own  land. 

Further,  everything  which  limits  one's  outlook  to 
one's  own  country  tends  to  promote  insularity  and  that 
false  patriotism  of  which  we  have  spoken.  We  do  not 
think  of  abstaining  from  teaching  the  geography  of 
countries  other  than  our  own,  and  yet  that  outside 
geography  is  not  so  essential  to  the  understanding  of  the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  239 

geography  of  England  as  is  tlie  history  of  other  nations 
to  the  understanding  of  the  history  of  England.  Under 
geograpliy  is  tangbt  much  of  the  present  relations  of 
England  with  other  lands,  but  those  relations  only 
become  intelligible  when  their  development  has  been 
traced. 

But,  it  will  be  urged,  you  thus  make  tlie  difficulty  of 
selecting  the  matter  of  instruction  immeasurably  greater. 
We  reply  that  the  difficulty  is  largely  due  to  a  mis- 
apprehension. The  common  opmion  is  that  school  history 
is  a  number  of  facts,  chronologically  arranged  indeed,  but 
with  no  other  coherence,  which  have  to  be  committed  to 
memory.  There  is  a  traditional  mass  of  matter  grouped 
under  the  successive  sovereigns  of  England  which  nearly 
every  school  seems  to  feel  itself  called  upon  to  teach.  By 
far  the  greater  part  of  this  matter  should  be  relegated  to 
the  dust-heap  of  history.  Let  us  get  rid  of  what  Seeley 
so  truly  called  "  our  childish  mode  of  arranging  history  " 
— though,  indeed,  by  '  childish  '  he  meant  '  foolish,'  for  no 
child  would  have  invented  it — let  us  recognise  that  the 
beginnings  and  ends  of  reigns  were  important,  doubtless, 
to  the  passing  and  coming  monarchs,  but  usually  had 
little  bearing  on  the  course  of  events  or  the  condition  of 
peoples.  Let  us  go  further  and  bring  home  to  our  minds 
the  truth  that  a  knowledge  even  of  the  names  of  many 
past  monarchs  is  of  absolutely  no  use  to  our  pupils.  Let 
us  determine  also  that  names  of  battles,  marches,  and 
coimter-marches  of  armies  are  frequently  of  profound 
historical  insignificance.  Let  us,  in  a  word,  disregard  the 
school  tradition  which  Ave  owe  so  largely  to  a  discredited 
and  largely  obsolete  kind  of  examination,  and  let  us 
select  our  matter  in  the  light  of  certain  broad  principles, 
excising  without  compunction  all  that  will  not  stand  our 
test. 


240  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

First,  then,  we  will  lay  down  that  our  pupils'  know- 
ledge must    be    elementary  :    the   teachers 

Kn^ledffJ  ^^^'^  ^°^  *^™®  ^^^  ^^^  pupils  maturity  for 
more.  But  we  should  remember  that  '  ele- 
mentary' should  mean  that  which  is  most  fundamental, 
not  that  which  is  most  insignificant,  nor  even  that  which 
is  most  easy. 

In  the  next  place,  the  matter  must  be  such  as  is  calcu- 
lated to  evoke  interest  in  the  pupils.  But 
again  the  warning  must  be  given  not  to 
confuse  the  interesting  with  the  exciting  or  amusing. 
Tliere  is  a  natural  tendency  for  a  teacher  to  choose  the 
most  pictm'esque  and  stirring  incidents  for  his  lessons. 
And  this  is  good  as  long  as  those  incidents  are  kept  to 
their  true  and  subordinate  function  of  making  the  past 
live  in  imagination.  But  if  picturesqueness  is  made  the 
main  test  of  suitability  the  history  taught  will  be  of  little 
value  in  training  the  judgment  and  in  helping  the  pupils 
to  see  the  connection  of  cause  and  effect  in  human  events. 
True  interest  is  an  impulse  always  pressing  towards 
satisfaction,  yet  never  satisfied.  It  strives  ever  onwards, 
and  is  rather  enhanced  than  deterred  by  difiiculties.  It 
values  each  step  in  its  progress,  not  by  its  amusing  or 
pleasing  qualities,  but  by  its  serviceableness  in  the  attain- 
ment of  the  end  in  view.  Thus  we  may  say  with  Seeley : 
"  I  am  often  told  by  those  who,  like  myself,  study  the 
question  how  history  should  be  taught,  Oh,  you  must, 
before  aU  things  make  it  interesting  !  I  agree  with  them 
in  a  certain  sense,  but  I  give  a  different  sense  to  the  word 
interesting,  a  sense  which  after  all  is  the  original  and 
pi'oper  one.  By  interesting  they  mean  romantic,  poetical, 
surprising;  I  do  not  try  to  make  history  interesting  in 
this  sense,  because  I  have  found  that  it  cannot  be  done 
without  adulterating  history  and  mixing  it  with  falsehood. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  241 

But  tlie  word  interesting  does  not  properly  mean  romantic. 
That  is  interesting  in  the  proper  sense  which  affects  our 
interests,  which  closely  concerns  us  and  is  deeply  important 
to  us.  .  .  .  Make  history  interesting  indeed!  I  cannot 
make  history  more  interesting  than  it  is,  except  by  falsi- 
fying it.  And  therefore  when  I  meet  a  person  who  does 
not  find  history  interesting,  it  does  not  occu.r  to  me  to  alter 
histoi'y, — I  try  to  alter  him.^''^ 

That  history  is  interesting  in  the  sense  of  Seeley's  re- 
marks will  be  apparent  to  all  who  have  accepted  the  views 
set  forth  in  this  chapter.  It  only  needs  to  be  set  forth 
attractively  by  a  competent  teacher  to  excite  the  interest 
of  every  normal  boy  and  girl. 

It  follows  from  what  has  been  said  that  teachers  should 
not  confine  their  instruction  to  facts.  Facts, 
Ideas  ^^  indeed,    are    essential,    but,    to    be    either 

interesting  or  instructive,  they  must  be  illus- 
trative  of  life  and  connected  in  causal  sequence.  Children 
who  have  reached  their  fifth  school  year  are  capable  of 
comparing  and  generalising  when  the  matter  is  not  too 
complex,  they  are  able  to  appreciate  general  tendencies 
though  at  first  this  insight  fails  to  find  ready  expression 
in  maxims  and  formulas.  But  unless  the  teacher  has 
planned  his  course,  chosen  and  arranged  the  facts  he 
teaches  round  some  few  leading  ideas  which  give  character 
to  the  great  world  tendencies,  such  tendencies  will  not  be 
seen  by  the  pupils.  Bad  teaching  or  unwise  choice  or 
arrangement  of  materials  may  obscure  the  meaning  of 
historical  movements  even  more  easily  than  the  opposite 
qualities  can  exhibit  them. 

What  then  are  the  leading  principles  which  should 
determine    the    selection    of    matter    in    such   a   course 


^  The  E.iptiiision  of  En<j(((nd,  pp.  30S-9. 

PR.  Ta.  IG 


242  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

as  can  be  given  during  the  last  two  or  three  years  in 
a  primary  school?  We  cannot  give  them  better  than 
in  the  words  of  Mr.  Frederic  Harrison :  "  It  is  possible 
to  know  something  of  history  without  a  pedantic 
erudition.  Let  a  man  ask  himself  always  what  he  wants 
to  know.  Something  of  man's  social  nature;  something  of 
the  growth  of  civilisation.  He  needs  to  understand  some- 
thing of  the  character  of  the  great  races  and  systems  of 
manldnd.  .  .  .  Let  him  ask  himself  what  the  Greeks  taught 
or  discovered  :  why  the  Romans  were  a  noble  race,  and 
how  they  printed  their  footmarks  so  deeply  on  the  earth. 
Let  him  ask  what  was  the  original  meaning  and  life  of 
those  great  feudal  institutions  of  chivalry  and  church,  of 
which  we  see  only  the  remnants.  Let  him  ask  what  was 
the  strength,  the  weakness,  and  the  meaning  of  the  great 
revolution  of  Cromwell,  or  the  great  revolution  in  France. 
.  .  .  Above  all,  we  must  look  on  history  as  a  whole, 
trying  to  find  what  each  age  and  race  has  contributed  to 
the  common  stock,  and  how  and  why  each  followed  in  its 
place.  .  .  .  The  history  of  the  human  race  is  the  history 
of  a  growth.  It  can  no  more  be  taken  to  pieces  than  the 
human  frame  can  be  taken  to  pieces.  .  .  .  Once  feel  that 
all  the  parts  are  needed  for  the  whole,  and  the  difficulty  of 
the  mass  of  material  vanishes."  ^ 

The  teacher  will,  then,  decide  what  are  the  answers  to 
such  questions,  and  will  choose  the  material  of  his  teaching 
so  as  to  make  those  answers  clear.  Of  course,  if  the 
majority  of  his  pupils  leave  school  at  the  end  of  the  sixth 
year,  he  cannot  go  over  the  ground  so  fully  as  when  he  can 
spread  the  teaching  over  three  years.  But  the  difference 
should  be  in  the  filling  of  the  scheme,  not  in  its  general 
outlines. 

Guided  by  the  main  ideas  he  wishes  to  impress  on  his 
'  7'/te  Meaning  of  llistcyi-y,  pp.  21-3, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  243 

pii]Mls'  mindfc!,  lie  will  not  allow  himself  to  be  trammelled 
by  clivouoloi^y.  He  will  group  liis  teaeliiug  round 
topics,  though  securing  that  the  topics  themselves  are  in 
correct  time  sequence.  He  will  make  his  chronological 
divisions  themselves  at  turning-points  in  history  and  not 
at  mere  artificial  points,  such  as  the  reigns  of  monarchs, 
which  often,  as  Seeley  says,  "  create  a  division  where  there 
is  no  division,  but  rather  unusually  manifest  continuity."^ 

It  is  obvious  that  such  a  course  must  be  laid  down  in 
its  entirety  before  the  teaching  is  begun. 
Course"  There  is  no  such  thing  as  living  from  hand 

to  mouth  in  effective  history  teacliing,  though 
unless  each  lesson  be  fully  and  carefully  prepared,  or  a 
former  preparation  revised  just  befoi'e  it  is  given,  the 
teaching  will  become  dull  and  lifeless.  Nor  can  the  teacher 
find  his  course  ready  planned  for  him  in  any  of  the  text- 
books. They  must  be  used  as  his  servants,  not  obeyed 
as  his  masters.  It  is  further  plain  that  the  best  results 
will  be  secured  only  wdien  the  same  teacher  conducts  the 
whole  course  with  any  one  set  of  pupils,  so  that  the 
study  may  be  made  to  them  an  uninterrupted  develop- 
ment. And,  lastly,  it  is  evident  that  this  teacher  must 
be  enthusiastic  both  as  a  student  and  as  a  teacher  of 
history,  for  whilst  no  subject  is  more  inspiring  and 
valuable  when  well  taught,  none  is  more  deadening  when 
badly  taught. 

7.  A  scheme  drawn  up  on  these  principles  would  take 

up    into    itself    the    lessons    given    in   the 

Content  preparatory  coiu-se.     The  heroes  with  whom 

of  Course.  Ii  -i      i 

the  pupils  there  made  acquaintance  are  now 

seen  as  leaders  and  representatives  of  great  movements ; 

the  beads  on  the   string  are  now  shown   as   stages   and 

epochs  in  an  organic  growth. 

1  Oi>.  cit.,  p.  26. 


244  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

There  must  be  division  into  periods,  but  the  teacher 
should  be  careful  to  remember  that  these 
Divisions.  ^^^^  made  by  historians  who,  in  looking  back 

over  the  ages,  can  see  how  different  modes  of  thought 
dominated  men  at  different  times,  and  who  have,  on  this 
basis,  divided  time  into  epochs  in  each  of  which  one  such 
view  of  life  was  prominent.  But  the  life  itself  flowed  on 
continuously,  and  one  period  merged  into  another.  As  in 
the  life  of  the  individual  we  can  mark  the  successive 
periods  of  childhood,  youth,  and  manhood,  each  with  its 
own  characteristics,  yet  each  fading  continuously  into  the 
other,  though  at  times  change  is  rapid  and  marked,  so 
with  the  history  of  civilisation.  There  are  periods — often 
long  periods — when  change  was  comparatively  slow; 
there  are  others  in  which  all  the  foundations  and 
landmarks  of  life  seemed  to  be  s\iddenly  and  violently 
upheaved.  Such  times  of  transition  and  unrest  form  the 
l)oundaries  between  the  ancient,  the  mediaeval,  and  the 
modern  worlds. 

It  will  be  well  so  to  divide  the  course  between  the 
years  over  which  it  extends  that  ancient  and  mediaeval 
history  are  taken  in  the  first  year,  and  modern  history 
occupies  the  remainder.  If  only  two  years  are  available, 
the  division  had  better  be  made  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  the  transition  period  Avas  ending  and  the 
modern  world  Avell  begun.  If  three  years  can  be  given, 
the  first  year's  work  had  better  end  at  the  beginning  of 
the  transition  period,  about  a  century  earlier,  and  the  last 
two  years  be  left  for  the  modern  period,  dividing  it  at 
the  point  between  the  establishment  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  French  Kevolu- 
tion.  These  divisions,  hoAvever,  will  be  for  the  teacher's 
guidance.  In  the  actual  teaching  they  should  not  be 
emphasised. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  245 

No  real  uuderstauding  of   modern  Europe  is  possible 

without  a  knowledge  of  the  great  heritage  to 
GreGce.  ....  . 

civilisation  left  by  ancient  Greece  and  Rome. 

If  history  teaching  is  to  fulfil  its  functions  it  must,  there- 
fore, begin  with  the  ancient  world.  No  detailed  record  can 
be  attempted,  but  typical  events  should  illustrate  each 
movement  and  be  made  to  live  by  full  and  detailed  treat- 
ment, thus  bringhig  honie  to  the  minds  of  the  pupils  the 
del)t  of  modern  Europe  to  the  earlier  nations. 

It  is  tiiie,  of  course,  that  history  does  not  begin  with 
Gri-eece,  but  enough  can  be  told  of  the  great  nations  of 
antiquity^Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylon,  and  Persia — in  con- 
nection with  the  Scripture  Lessons.  Of  these  old  nations 
Persia  was  the  survivor  and  imder  Cyrus  reached  the  height 
of  its  power.  Its  organisation,  its  luxury,  its  mighty 
armies  pressing  west  to  conquest  nmst  be  vividly  described. 
Then  follows  its  repulse  by  the  Greeks — a  people  insignifi- 
cant in  numbers  in  comparison  with  its  Oriental  enemy. 
So  arises  the  desire  to  know  more  of  this  wonderful  race. 
The  geography  of  Hellas  and  its  influence  on  the  life  of  its 
inhabitants  should  l)e  examined.^  Thus  will  become  plain 
Ijotli  tlie  elements  of  disunion  due  to  a  country  cut  up  by 
moimtain  ranges  into  naturally  isolated  tracts,  and  of  union 
based  on  communitv  of  religion,  customs,  and  lano-uao-e, 
and  Icept  alive  by  the  largely  religious  assemblies  at  the 
national  games.  The  chief  cities — Athens,  Sparta,  Corinth, 
Thebes — will  be  spoken  of  and  their  characteristic  differ- 
ences noted. 

This,  then,  is  the  |)eople  which  hurled  back  the  Persians 
from  the  gate  of  Eiu-o})e  and  saved  the  A\^e.stern  world  from 
Asiatic  forms  of  thought  and  government.  The  glorious 
battles  in  which  Greece  vindicated  her  claim  to  freedom 
appeal  to  the  noblest  feelings  of  our  nature — Marathon 

'  Ste  (;Jiotf,  Hi^fory  of  Greece,  Part  II.,  Cluip.  I. 


246  THfi    TEACHING    OF    HISTORt. 

where  the  Athenians  under  Miltiades  rolled  back  the  first 
flood  of  invasion  sent  west  by  Darius  ;  Thermopylae,  where 
the  Spartans  under  Leonidas  won  death  and  immortality 
in  arresting  the  second  and  greater  army  vmder  Xerxes ; 
Salamis,  where  the  Athenian  fleet  under  Themistocles 
scattered  the  armada  of  the  national  foe ;  Mycale,  where 
the  Persian  power  was  so  broken  that  it  never  again  dared 
to  attack  the  victorious  Greeks. 

The  growth  in  power  and  glory  of  Athens  and  the  exten- 
sion of  its  influence  over  the  islands  will  then  be  described : 
its  preeminence  in  all  intellectual  culture — in  science,  in 
literature,  in  philosophy,  in  art,  will  be  insisted  on.  A 
day's  life  in  the  city,  witli  its  market-place,  schools,  gym- 
nasia, and  temples,  will  be  pictured  and  illustrated  by  views 
of  its  architecture  and  sculpture.  Contrasted  with  this  will 
be  the  hard  and  narrow  life  of  Sparta.  Then  the  inherent 
weakness  of  Greece  Avill  l)e  made  manifest  by  the  long  war 
which  imder  the  rival  leaders,  Athens  and  Sparta,  divided 
the  Greek  states,  and  finally  ended  with  the  overthrow  and 
degradation  of  Athens. 

The  rise  of  Macedon  under  Philip  and  its  expansion 
under  Alexander  will  then  be  shown,  the  extent  of 
Alexander's  empire  with  its  dissemination  of  Greek  cul- 
ture examined,  and  the  founding  of  Alexandria  described. 
The  disrviption  of  the  twenty  years  old  empire  immediately 
after  the  death  of  its  founder  will  serve  still  further  to 
illustrate  the  want  of  practical  political  aptitvide  of  the 
Greeks. 

Such  a  course  of  lessons  will  have  made  prominent  both 
the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  the  Greeks — their  in- 
tellectual greatness  and  their  political  instability.  As  Mr. 
Frederic  Harrison  says,  "  The  Greeks  had  created  no 
system  of  law,  no  political  order,  no  social  svstem.  If 
civilisation    had    stopjjed    there,    it  woidd  have  ended  in 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  247 

ceaseless  agitation,  discord,  and  dissolution.  Their 
character  was  wanting  iu  self-command  and  tenacity,  and 
their  genius  was  too  often  wasted  in  intellectual  license. 
Yet  if  politically  lliey  were  unstable,  intellectually  they 
were  great."  ' 

The  very  factors  in  civilisation  wanting  in  Grreece 
were  the  distinctive  features  of  Kome.  The 
oi'igiu  of  the  Romans  is  lost  in  legend,  but 
during  the  latter  of  the  years  which  have  been  described 
in  the  story  of  Greece  the  nation  was  being  formed  by  the 
amalgamation  of  two  peoples, one  of  much  intellectual  power, . 
the  othei'  of  imdatmted  courage  and  iron  perseverance.  The 
resulting  people  showed  the  qualities  of  both.  The  gradual 
spread  of  the  power  of  Rome  over  Italy  during  four 
centuries  will  be  very  briefly  outlined  in  connection  Avith 
the  geography  of  the  peninsula. 

Then  comes  the  life  and  death  struggles  "with  Carthage, 
lasting  with  intervals  some  hundred  and  twenty  years,  and 
ending  in  the  final  overthrow  of  Carthage — a  struggle 
between  two  nations  in  marked  contrast  with  each  other. 
"  On  one  side  was  the  genius  of  war,  empire,  law,  and  art, 
on  tlie  other  the  genius  of  commerce,  industry,  and  wealth. 
The  subjects  of  Carthage  were  scattered  over  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  power  of  Rome  was  compact.  Carthage  fought 
with  regular  mercenaries,  Rome  with  her  disciplined 
citizens.  Carthage  had  consummate  generals,  but  Rome 
had  matchless  soldiers."-  The  interest  centres  in  the 
second  of  the  three  wars,  and  gathers  itself  round  the 
heroic  figures  of  Hannibal  and  Scipio,  culminating  in  the 
subjugation  of  Carthage  by  the  latter.  Thus  the  Republic 
is  seen  pushing  on  its  conquests  and  through  war  extend- 
ing the  blessings  of  peace,  till  after  seven  hundred  years  of 
fighting  Roman  dominion  extended  over  the  civilised 
'  Op.  cii.,  p.  4'J.  -  Harrison,  o}}.  cit.,  p.  54. 


248  THE    TEACHING    OS'    ftlSTORt. 

world.  Macedon,  Spain,  G-aul,  and  Britain  M'ere  in- 
corporated, and  everywhere  orderly  rule  and  strict  govern- 
ment were  established. 

But  even  during  this  growth  of  empire  internal  dissen- 
sions had  been  springing  up ;  patriotism  was  giving  place 
to  pai-ty  spirit ;  the  constitution  suited  to  a  small  state 
was  found  inadequate  to  a  world-wide  empire.  The  need 
for  re- organisation  had  arisen  and  the  genius  appeared  in 
Julius  Caesar,  who  welded  the  Empire  together  by  freely 
extending  Boman  citizenship  to  natives  of  the  distant 
provinces,  thus  making  Rome  itself  rather  the  leader  than 
the  mistress  of  distant  nations.  Though  Caesar  was 
assassinated  by  the  old  aristocratic  faction,  his  work 
remained,  and  the  Empire  was  firmly  established  under 
Augustus.  Here  the  results  of  Roman  dominion  may  be 
reviewed  and  exemplified  by  Britain — a  Roman  town  and 
a  Roman  camp,  Roman  roads  and  other  evidences  of 
Roman  civilisation  being  described  and  illustrated  by 
pictures. 

Next  the  spread  of  Christianity  within  the  Empire 
should  be  traced,  the  early  persecutions  and  final  trimnph 
under  Constantine.  Then  should  be  noted  the  momentous 
change  when  Rome  ceased  to  be  the  imperial  dwelling- 
place,  and  the  seat  of  Empire,  after  some  wanderings,  was 
fixed  by  Constantine  at  Byzantium,  which  he  enlarged  and 
which  has  ever  since  been  known  as  Constantinople. 
Thus  were  soAvn  the  seeds  of  the  disruption  of  the  Empire, 
and  of  the  continuous  struggles  between  rival  Emperors 
which  marked  the  next  century  and  a  half. 

To  internal  strife  was  added  barbarian  invasion, 
culminating  in  the  sack  of  Rome  by  Alaric  in  410. 
The  defeat  of  Attila,  King  of  the  Huns,  at  ChiUons  in 
451  must  be  emphasised,  for  this,  as  Freeman  says,  "was 
one  of  the  most  important  battles  in  the  history  of  the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  240 

• 

world  ;  it  was  a  struggle  for  life  and  death  between  the 
Aryan  and  Turanian  races,  and  Christianity  and  civilisa- 
tion, and  all  that  distinguishes  Europe  fi'oni  Asia  and 
Africa  were  at  stake." ^  Nevertheless,  power  was  passing 
more  and  more  into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  Avho  not 
only  invaded  the  Empire,  but  settled  in  it,  till  in  476,  by 
decree  of  the  Senate,  the  line  of  Western  Emperors  ceased, 
and  the  Eastern  Emperor  was  declared  ruler  of  the  whole. 
The  settlement  of  the  barl)arians  in  the  Empire  is,  of  course, 
illustrated  by  the  coming  of  the  English  tribes  to  Bi'itain, 
but  this  cannot  be  understood  if  treated  as  an  isolated 
phenomenon. 

So  the  rise,  grandeur,  and  fall  of  Rome  will  have  been 
set  forth.  Not  very  many  lessons  will  have  been  required, 
for  only  broad  outlooks  will  have  been  taken,  vividness 
being  given  by  detailed  representation  of  typical  events. 
What,  then,  are  the  lessons  to  be  learnt  ?  Eome  presents 
the  typical  example  of  successful  government,  and  yet 
she  failed  because  her  empire  rested  on  the  insecure 
foundations  of  war  and  slavery.  War  was  the  main 
occupation  of  the  state,  so  commerce  and  industrial  arts 
were  neglected  ;  the  capital  lived  on  the  tribute  of  the 
provinces  ;  serfs  cultivated  the  land  whilst  the  free  popula- 
tion crowded  the  towns.  There  was  thus  no  permanent 
bond  of  union.  Nor  was  such  a  bond  supplied  by  religion, 
for  the  Empire  tolerated  all  forms  of  religion.  Thus, 
while  the  early  centimes  present  examples  of  the  noblest 
public  virtues,  the  later  show  us  a  mass  of  public  corrup- 
tion. The  real  heritage  of  Rome  to  Europe  is,  then,  the 
inheritance  of  her  earlier  years. 

The  lessons  to  be  emphasised  in  a  study  of  the  two 
great  ancient  nations  are  well  summed  up  by  Mr.  Frederic 
Harrison :  "  The  Greeks  founded  the  city,  the  Romans  the 
'  General  Sketch  of  European  Ilistorij,  [).  IOj. 


250  THE    TEACHING    OP    HISTORY. 

nation.  The  Greeks  were  the  authors  of  philosophy,  the 
Komans  of  goveruiaeiit,  justice  and  peaca  The  Greek 
ideal  was  thought,  the  Eoman  ideal  was  law.  The  Greeks 
taught  us  the  noble  lesson  of  individual  freedom,  the 
Eomans  the  still  nobler  lesson,  the  sense  of  social  duty."' 
The  centuries  of  confusion  and  struggle  which  followed 
the  fall  of  liome  should  l)e  very  lightly 
Transition  to  vjj^gggj  over.  Several  points,  however,  are 
the  Middle  ^  ,  •       t-i      i       i    j.i 

Ages.  important.     Thus,  whereas   in   Jiiiigland  the 

invaders  expelled  or  ilestroyed  the  older 
inhabilauts,  and  with  them  the  civilisation  which  had  been 
attained,  in  the  rest  of  the  Empire  this  was  not  so.  The 
invaders  were  comparatively  few  and  they  settled  amongst 
the  former  population,  many  of  whose  institutions  sur- 
vived in  a  more  or  less  changed  form. 

Next  the  growing  power  of  the  Church  should  l)e 
noticed,  and  especially  that  of  the  Roman  Pontiff.  In 
connection  with  this  the  mission  under  Augvistine  sent  by 
Gregory  the  Great  should  be  described.  Above  all,  the 
great  work  of  the  Church  in  keeping  aliglit  the  lamp  of 
civilisation,  religion,  and  morality  amidst  the  thick  clouds 
of  ignoi*ance  and  grossness,  and  in  gradually  winning  the 
barbarians  themselves  to  her  pure  and  ennobling  faith, 
should  be  brought  into  relief. 

The  career  of  Mahomet  should  be  briefly  sketched,  and 
the  rise  of  Mahoinetanism  with  the  rapid  spread  of  the 
Arabic  conquests  over  south-west  Asia  and  north  Africa 
must  be  shown  as  a  European  danger.  The  Arabic  con- 
quests in  Spain  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighth  century 
accentuated  the  peril,  but  it  was  averted  fi-om  west  Europe 
by  the  defeat  of  the  Saracens  by  Charles  Martel  in  the 
battle  of  Tours  in  732  -a  defeat  which  quenched  for  ever 

1  Op.  cit.,  pp.  51-2. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  251 

Mahometan  hopes  of  coiiqueriuy  Western  Em-ope,  though 
incursions  into  the  south  still  continued. 

The  temporary  reduction  of  chaos  to  order  by  Charle- 
magne in  Western  Europe  and  by  Egbert  in  England 
should  be  liriefly  narrated.  The  further  invasion  of  the 
Empire  by  the  )Saracens  in  the  south,  the  Hungarians  in 
the  east,  the  Northmen  along  the  coasts  of  the  west,  an<l 
the  Danes  in  England  should  be  mentioned.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  the  work  of  Alfred  in  pacifying  England 
and  advancing  civilisation  should  especially  l)e  insisted  on. 
Then  the  establishment  of  the  Duchy  of  Normandy  by 
Eollo  the  Northman  and  the  predominance  of  the  Danes 
in  England  under  Canute  shoukl  be  described.  By  the 
time  of  the  conquest  of  England  by  William  the  new 
order  of  things  was  generally  established  in  Europe. 

The  Middle  Ages  have  now  been  i*eached — a  period 
showing  many  marked  characteristics  wdiicli 
The  Middle  endured  without  very  siibstantial  change  for 
some  centiu-ies.  The  two  institutions  it  is 
essential  to  understand  are  the  Church  and  Feudalism. 
The  mediaeval  theory  was  that  Western  Europe  was  still 
essentially  one  C(jmmunity.  "  Men  believed  more  than 
ever  that  Eome  was  the  lawful  and  natural  centre  of  the 
world.  For  it  w^as  held  that  there  were  of  divine  right  tw'o 
Vicars  of  God  upon  earth,  the  Roman  Emperor  his  Vicar 
in  temporal  things,  and  the  Roman  Bishop  his  Vicar  in 
spiritual  things.  This  belief  did  not  interfere  with  the 
existence  either  of  separate  commonwealths  and  princi- 
palities or  of  national  churches.  But  it  was  held  that  the 
Roman  Emperor,  who  was  called  Lord  of  the  World,  w^as 
of  right  the  head  of  all  temporal  states,  and  that  the 
Roman  Bisliop,  the  Pope,  was  of  right  the  head  of  all 
Churches."' 

'  Freeman,  op.  cit.,  p.  1(39. 


262  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

On  the  religious  side  the  Popes  continually  strove  to 
make  this  theory  a  working  reality.  On  the  temporal  side 
it  was  much  less  operative.  The  Emperor  in  practice  was 
little  more  than  one  sovereign  amongst  others,  at  first  a 
German,  afterwards  a  Spanish,  ruler  elected  by  certain 
German  princes.  Still  the  theory  held  sway  over  men's 
minds,  and  unless  it  be  grasped  the  clue  to  the  history 
of  the  INIiddle  Ages  is  wanting.  In  detail,  the  temporal 
organisation  was  Feudalism,  which  combined  the  old 
Roman  element  of  holding  land  from  the  Emperor  as  the 
head  of  the  State  with  the  Teutonic  element  of  personal 
service  to  the  lord. 

The  to])ics  chosen  for  special  treatment  in  this  period 
should,  therefore,  he  such  as  bring  out  these  two  great 
aspects  of  life.  Periods  which  do  not  vividly  illustrate 
either  may  be  passed  over  in  few  words  or  omitted 
altogether.  The  history  will  be  centred  in  England,  for 
the  illustrations  may  be  drawn  from  English  history  quite 
as  effectively  as  from  that  of  other  parts  of  Europe.  But 
the  feudal  relations  of  England  to  other  countries,  especially 
to  Scotland  and  France,  must  be  insisted  on  in  any  ex- 
planation of  either  the  war  Avith  Scotland  or  the  Hundred 
Years'  war,  for  these  were  attempts  to  assert  alleged 
feudal  rights. 

The  nature  of  Feudalism  may  best  be  explained  by 
beginning  at  the  bottom  of  the  social  scale,  with  the  manor 
dominated  by  the  lord  in  his  castle,  and  then  working  out 
the  relation  of  the  lord  to  his  tenants  and  the  kind  of  life 
which  followed  from  that  relation.  The  relation  of  the 
lord  to  his  over-lord  can  be  traced  by  analogy  with  this. 
Much  of  the  power  of  the  State  is  thus  seen  to  have  been 
parcelled  out  amongst  the  lords,  whose  power  over  their 
tenants  was  practically  absolute.  The  tendency  of  this  to 
lead  to  petty  wars  between  nobles  luidor  a  weak  k'ing  is 


THK    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  253 

well  illustrated  by  the  reigu  of  Stephen.  The  struggle 
between  barons  and  king,  each  to  limit  the  power  of  the 
other,  is  seen  in  the  compulsory  signing  of  Magna  Charta 
by  John  and  the  equally  compulsory  acceptance  of  it  by 
subsequent  mouarchs.  The  tendency  of  kings  to  extend 
their  power  over  the  nobles  should  throughout  be  kept  in 
the  foreground,  as  it  is  the  clearest  indication  of  the 
gradual  unification  of  national  life  in  England  as  in  other 
countries. 

This  struggle  was  brought  to  a  climax  in  England  by 
the  Wars  of  the  Eoses,  which  are  important  because  in 
them  the  old  feudal  nobility  destroyed  itself.  It  is  this 
which  should  be  emphasised,  not  the  alternation  of  ruling 
houses  nor  the  battles  in  which  power  changed  sides. 
Thus  Feudalism  died  in  England  long  before  it  disap- 
peared from  the  Continent,  and  the  opposing  forces 
become  the  people  and  the  king. 

The  growth  of  the  people  in  power  will  be  traced  both 
industrially  and  politically.  The  former  is  seen  in  the 
growth  of  towns  and  commerce,  and  was  accelerated  by 
the  introduction  of  the  Flemings  into  East  Anglia  by 
Edward  the  Third ;  the  latter  begins  with  the  parliament 
of  Simon  de  Montfort. 

Keeping  these  main  ideas  in  view  the  teacher  will  choose 
his  topics.  He  will  make  them  real  by  vivid  accounts  of 
the  lighter  side  of  Feudalism  :  the  life  in  village  and  castle, 
the  training  of  a  knight,  the  idea  of  chivalry,  tournaments, 
and  the  methods  of  actual  war.  He  will  describe  the 
siege  of  a  castle,  and  may  make  it  living  by  reading  the 
accurate  and  graphic  account  in  the  forty- third  chapter  of 
The  Cloixter  and  the  Hearth.  Similarly,  life  in  town  with 
its  organisation  into  gilds  will  be  described. 

The  Crusades  show  at  once  the  growth  of  the  influence 
of  the  Church  and  the  characteristics  of  chivalry.     At  the 


254  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

same  time  they  are  cue  of  the  causes  wliicli  led  to  the  break- 
up of  the  Feudal  System.  They  will  not  be  treated  in 
detail,  but  the  first  under  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  leading  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Latin  kingdom  of  Terusalem,  and 
the  third,  in  which  Eichard  the  First  took  part,  should  be 
taken  as  types  and  told  with  sufficient  fulness  to  make 
them  real  movements. 

Opportunity  is  here  given  to  show  the  spread  of 
Mahometan  power  and  to  describe  Saracen  civilisation, 
nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  thei-e  had  been  a  Moorish 
kingdom  in  Spain  since  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century, 
which  had  attained  a  high  degree  of  civilisation  and  which 
was  not  conquered  by  the  Christian  king  of  Spain  till  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Thus  the  long  series  of 
Crusades  lasting  from  the  end  of  the  eleventh  till  the  end 
(if  the  thirteenth  century  get  a  meaning.  Tliey  are  seen 
to  be  phases  in  the  long  duel  between  Christianity  and 
Mahometanism,  and  their  ultimate  failure  will  prepare  the 
pupils'  minds  for  the  later  incursions  of  the  Ottoman 
Turks  into  Europe  and  their  conquest  of  Constantinople 
in  1453.  One  of  the  great  drawbacks  to  confining  history 
teaching  to  England  is  that  this  great  struggle,  during 
which  for  centuries  the  fate  of  Europe  hung  in  the  balance, 
is  ignored,  whilst  attention  is  concentrated  on  such  petty 
events  as  the  battles  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 

The  other  great  institution  to  be  illustrated  is  the 
Church.  Of  cours*  the  two  series  of  lessons— those 
dealing  with  Feudalism  and  those  treating  of  the  Church — 
will  run  on  side  by  side.  We  have  separated  them  here 
for 'clearness  in  laying  down  the  main  lines  the  teaching 
should  take :  we  are  not  drawing  out  a  detailed  syllabus. 
The  Church  is  seen  at  first  as  the  great  preserver  of 
civilisation  and  learning  amongst  war,  ignorance,  and 
brutal  roughness  of  life,     The  meaning  of  monastic  life 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  255 

auJ  the  religions  influence  of  the  preacliing  friars  should 
be  brought  out  by  vivid  description.  The  work  of  the 
Church  in  founding  schools  should  be  made  clear.  Its 
struggles  to  assert  its  independence  of  the  temporal  power 
should  be  illustrated  by  the  dispute  between  Henry  the 
Second  and  Thomas  of  Canterbury.  Its  influence  in 
secular  matters  may  be  exemplified  in  such  great  ecclesias- 
tical statesmen  as  Grosseteste,  William  of  Wykeham,  and 
Wolsey.  The  advance  of  churchmen  in  the  arts  is  shown 
by  reference  to  the  cathedrals,  churches,  and  monastic 
ruins  which  remain  to  us.  The  existence  of  doubts  as  to 
the  Cluu'ch's  doctrines  and  of  discontent  with  the  social 
system  are  both  brought  out  in  Wycliffe. 

If  the  teaching  is  planned  to  emphasise  these  features 
of  life  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  is  made  vivid  by  copious 
detail  and  illustration,  the  pupils  will  learn  more  real 
history  than  if  they  memorise  all  the  sovereigns  of 
England  and  "  the  chief  events  in  their  reigns  "  as  set 
forth  by  the  ordinary  school  text-book.  They  will  have 
lived  in  imagination  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  will  have 
seen  law  and  order,  industry,  the  arts  and  learning 
growing  up  under  the  protection  of  Feudalism  and  the 
Church ;  yet  they  will  have  found  disintegrating  forces  at 
work,  and  will  thus  be  prepared  to  find  in  the  Eenaissance 
and  Reformation  only  the  acceleration  and  concentration 
of  existing  movements,  all  making  for  a  greater  individual 
liberty  of  men  and  a  greater  independence  of  nations. 
For  in  the  Church  and  Feudalism  are  seen  the  two  great 
hindrances  to  the  expansion  of  national  life.  The  Church, 
by  uniting  all  nations  into  one  organisation,  which 
exercised  not  only  religious  functions  but  many  secular 
powers  as  well,  made  distinctions  and  separation  between 
nations  difficult.  Feudalism,  by  subdividing  the  power  of 
the  State  amongst  the  nobles,  especially  when  many  nobles 


256  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

held  fiefs  in  several  couiitries,  made  the  internal  nnion  of 
States  unstable  and  insecure.  Hence  the  demand  for 
national  unity  took  the  two  forms  of  a  centralised  civil 
government  and  an  equally  centralised  national  Church, 
of  which  membership  should  be  as  compulsory  as  is 
membership  of  the  State. 

The  dominance  of   these  two  ideas  must  be  borne  in 

mind  in  tracing  the  transition  between  the 

Transition  to     mediaeval  and  the  modern  world,  especially 

World.  i^  England.      They    explain  both   the   civil 

and  the  ecclesiastical  policy  of  the  Tudors 

and  the  Stuarts. 

But  other  influences  must  be  noticed  as  leading  to 
the  break  up  of  mediaevalism.  Of  one  of  these — the 
Eenaissance — but  little  will  be  said,  for  the  revival  of 
classical  learning  can  have  but  little  meaning  to  a  primary 
school  pupil.  Bvit  in  its  later  and  Grerman  form  of  the 
Reformation  it  must  be  dealt  with,  though  the  teacher 
must  here  be  sijecially  on  his  guard  against  an  imfair 
presentment  of  the  facts.  The  movement  under  Liither 
will  be  traced  in  outline,  especially  so  far  as  it  influenced 
events  in  England.  The  leading  force  in  the  Reformation 
in  England  under  the  Tudors  will  be  shown  to  have  been 
the  desire  of  the  sovereigns  for  absolute  power  and  a 
centralised  national  life,  and  the  consequent  disposition 
to  attack  the  Church  as  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  attain- 
ment of  those  ends.  The  marriage  question  is  then  seen 
to  have  been  only  a  pretext,  and  Henry's  various  experi- 
ments in  matrimony  may  be  left  to  repose  in  forgetfulness. 
With  an  interval  under  Mary  the  same  policy  was  con- 
tinued by  Elizabeth,  and  a  meaning  is  thus  found  in  the 
religious  persecutions  of  the  time,  which  are  seen  to  be 
as  much  political  as  religious  in  their  intention. 

Equally  im])ortant  in  its  r^^sults  witli  the  Reformation 


fHt;    TEACHING    OF    HTSTOKT.  257 

■was  tlie  movemeut  towards  geographical  discovery  made 
possible  by  tlie  mariner's  compass,  which,  tradition  says, 
was  invented  by  Gioja  of  Naples  in  1302.  The  know- 
ledge of  the  world  then  possessed  by  Europeans  should  be 
sketched  and  illustrated  by  reproduction  of  maps  of  the 
time.  A  pictiu-esque  examination  of  the  mediaeval  trade 
routes  will  explain  the  commercial  supremacy  of  Italy. 
The  discoveries  should  be  seen  as  a  race  for  the  Indies. 
"  The  elements  of  this  race  are  (a)  the  discovery  of  the 
Cape  of  G-ood  Hope  by  Diaz,  in  1486  ;  (&)  the  discovery  by 
Columbus,  in  1492,  of  the  West  Indies,  which  lay  in  front 
of  the  great  barrier  continents ;  (c)  Vasco  da  G-ama's 
voyage  to  India  in  1497-8;  (d)  Albuquerque's  seizure  of 
Malacca  and  the  Spice  Islands  in  1511  and  1512,  before 
(e)  Balboa  discovered  the  South  Sea,  and  ten  years  before 
(/)  Magellan  reached  the  Philippines."'  England's  con- 
nection with  the  discoveries  will  be  found  in  the  voyages 
of  Cabot.  The  gTeat  result  of  these  discoveries  was  the 
substitution  of  the  Atlantic  for  the  Mediterranean  as  the 
highway  of  trade,  and  the  consequent  transference  of  the 
centre  of  intellectual  and  commercial  life  from  Italy  to  the 
countries  bordering  that  ocean.  Of  course  the  change  was 
Tiot  sudden :  it  took  a  century  to  accomplish. 

The  general  condition  of  the  western  European  nations 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  centiuy  should  here  be 
grasped.  Spain  had  conquered  Granada  and  united  the 
whole  peninsula,  except  Portugal,  u.nder  one  head ;  Sar- 
dinia, Sicily,  Naples,  Burgundy,  and  the  Netherlands  were, 
l»y  marriage  or  by  conquest,  dominions  of  the  Spanish  king. 
When  the  thrones  of  Spain  and  the  Empire  were  united  in 
Charles  the  Fifth  the  restoration  of  the  Eoman  Empire 
seemed  about  to  be  accomplished.  But  I'^'ance  was  strong 
and  compact,  and  both  Francis  uf  Franco  and  Henry  of 
1  Boui'ne,  The  Ttachiiig  uf  History  and  Civics,  p.  "200. 
ri4.  TG.  17 


258  THE    TEACHING    0¥    HISTORY. 

Euglaud  were  young  and  ambitious.  Portugal  had  no 
European  dominions  outside  her  borders,  but  had  taken 
the  lead  in  discovery  in  Africa  and  had  found  her  way  to 
India. 

There  are  two  main  clues  to  the  history  of  the  three 
.  ^  ,  centuries   which   follow.      The   first   to    be 

Period— the  apparent  was  the  religious  struggle  which 
Biilance  of  grew  out  of  the  Eeformation.  The  second 
was  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between 
the  nations,  especially  for  the  possession  of  the  New 
World.  These  cut  across  each  other  in  many  places,  and 
neither  by  itself  will  explain  the  course  of  events.  As 
Stubbs  remarks  :  "  Where  Protestantism  was  an  idea  only, 
as  in  Spain  and  Italy,  it  was  crushed  out  by  tLe  Inquisi- 
tion ;  where,  in  conjunction  with  political  power  and 
sustained  by  ecclesiastical  confiscation,  it  became  a  phy- 
sical force,  there  it  was  lasting."^  An  exception  is  found 
in  the  Netherlands,  where  bad  government  in  general  and 
religious  persecution  in  particular  led  to  revolt,  which,  after 
forty  years  of  heroic  struggle,  ended  in  the  estabhshmeut 
of  the  Dutch  Eepublic  in  1609.  By  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  however,  the  Eeformation  had  practically 
ceased  to  be  a  force  in  politics. 

But  the  other  motive  to  strife  continually  increased 
in  strength.  Discovery  involved  appropriation.  So,  as 
Seeley  says,  the  competition  for  the  New  World  betw^een 
Spain,  Portugal,  France,  Holland,  and  England  "is  a 
formula  w^hich  sums  up  a  gi-eat  part  of  the  history  of 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries."^  An  isolated 
treatment  of  English  history,  then,  must  obviously  fail 
bo  give  a  true  idea  of  the  coiuse  of  events.  In  this 
struggle  distinct  phases  should  be  marked.  In  the  six- 
teenth century  Spain  conquered  Mexico  and  Peru,  and 
>  Op.  cit.,  p.  2C8.  -  Op.  cit.,  p.  98. 


THE    TRACHINU    OF    HlSTuliY.  251) 

Portugal  annexed  Brazil.  For  sixty  years,  from  1580  to 
16i0,  Portugal  was  under  the  dominion  of  Spain.  Thus 
the  trade  monopoly  which  was  characteristic  of  Spain's 
foreign  policy  formed  a  barrier  between  the  rest  of  Europe 
and  America.  In  this  will  be  seen  the  origin  and,  to  some 
extent,  the  excuse  of  the  buccaneering  expeditions  of  Drake, 
Grrenville,  Ealeigh,  Hawkins,  and  other  Elizabethan  "  sea- 
dogs,"  Avhich,  combined  with  English  aid  to  the  revolted 
Netherlands,  and  with  religious  differences,  led  to  the 
Spanish  Armada. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  occur  the  English  and  French 
settlements  in  America,  whilst  the  Dutch  issued  from  their 
war  with  Spain  the  masters  of  most  of  their  enemies'  pos- 
sessions in  the  East  Indies.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
century  both  Holland  and  Portugal  have  declined  in  ])ower, 
Spain  has  remained  stationary,  but  England  and  France 
have  advanced.  So  the  interest  in  the  eighteenth  centuiy 
essentially  centres  in  the  duel  between  England  and 
France. 

It  is,  then,  with  the  Spanish  Armada  that  the  modern 
liistory  of  England  is  seen  to  begin.  From  that  time 
England  should  be  shown  as  becoming  more  and  more  a 
pow^er  on  the  sea,  and  a  commercial  and  industrial  nation. 
Early  in  the  following  century  it  must  be  noted  how  she 
began  to  expand  beyond  her  own  shores  by  founding  the 
American  colonies,  whilst  the  danger  of  internal  war  ceased 
with  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland  under  James  the 
First.  England  took  no  dii-ect  part  in  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  a  contest  partly  religious  and  partly  political,  which 
left  Germany  exhausted  and  the  way  clear  for  the  greatness 
of  France  under  Louis  the  Foui-teenth.  Interest  for  the 
time  will  be  centred  in  the  home  struggle — also  partly 
political  and  partly  religious — between  King  and  Parlia- 
ment, and  tlie  names  of  Laud,  Strafford,  Hampden,  Pym, 


260  THE    TEACHING   OP    HISTORY. 

and  Cromwell  will  be  made  familiar.  The  main  thread  is, 
however,  soon  taken  up  again  when  England  challenges 
the  Dutch  monopoly  of  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world. 
The  changing  alliances  in  the  wars  which  were  waged 
before  England  definitely  took  the  lead  in  commerce  show 
how  largely  religious  affinities  were  subordinated  to  consi- 
derations of  increase  of  power.  The  Kevolution  of  1688 
brought  England  for  the  first  time  definitely  face  to 
face  Avith  France. 

The  power  of  the  Empire  will  be  shown  to  have  been 
much  shaken,  not  only  by  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  but  by 
the  incursions  of  the  Turks.  A  brief  retrospect  will  be 
needed.  Francis  the  First  of  France  had  obtained  the 
help  of  the  Turks  against  the  Empire,  and  they  had 
conquered  a  large  part  of  Hungary,  and  besieged  Vienna. 
For  a  time  their  advance  was  checked,  and  Philip  the 
Second  of  Spain,  in  alliance  with  the  Kepublic  of  Venice, 
defeated  them  in  the  naval  battle  of  Lepanto  in  1571. 
A  century  later  the  persecuted  Protestants  of  the  Empire 
allied  themselves  with  the  Turks,  who  again  besieged 
Vienna  in  1683.  The  war  went  on  till  1699,  by  which 
time  they  had  been  driven  out  of  Hungary.  So  the 
dano-er  which  for  centuries  had  threatened  Christendom 
finally  lost  its  terror. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  therefore, 
Eno-land  and  France  are  seen  to  stand  face  to  face,  and 
witii  but  short  intermissions  war  continued  between  them 
for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  the  prize  being  beyond 
the  seas  in  America  and  in  India.  The  internal  history 
of  England  is  uninteresting,  and  of  little  importance; 
the  only  really  memorable  event  being  the  legislative 
union  of  England  and  Scotbind.  Tlie  incursions  of 
the  Old  and  Yoimg  Pretenders  were  pi'iniarily  moves  in 
the  game  of  France.     Such  a  war  as  that  of  the  'Spanish 


TIIK    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  26] 

Succession'  seems  inexplicable  till  the  clue  is  grasped. 
"  In  reality,"  says  Seeley,  "  it  is  the  most  business-like  of 
all  our  wars,  and  it  was  waged  in  the  interest  of  English 
and  Dutch  merchants  whose  trade  and  livelihood  were  at 
stake.  .  .  .  From  1660  to  1700  France  had  been  the  first 
state  in  the  world  beyond  all  dispute.  But  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  left  England  the  first  state  in  the  world,  and  she 
continued  for  some  years  to  be  first  without  a  rival."  ^ 

During  the  twenty- seven  years  of  peace — or  rather  truce 
— which  followed,  the  positions  of  England  and  France  in 
America  and  in  India  should  be  described.  "  The  French 
claimed  all  America,  from  the  AUeglianies  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains^  and  from  Mexico  and  Florida  to  the  North 
Pole,  except  only  the  ill-defined  possessions  of  the  English 
on  the  borders  of  Hudson  Bay ;  and  to  these  vast  regions, 
with  adjacent  islands,  they  gave  the  general  name  of 
New  France.  They  controlled  the  highways  of  the  con- 
tinent, for  they  held  its  two  great  rivers.  .  .  .  Canada 
at  the  north,  and  Louisiana  at  the  south,  were  the  keys  of 
a  boiuidless  interior,  rich  with  incalculable  possibilities. 
The  English  colonies,  ranged  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  had 
no  royal  road  to  the  great  inland,  and  were,  in  a  manner, 
shut  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea."-  In  India  each 
country  possessed  certain  trading  stations,  and  had  liegun 
to  take  a  share  in  native  quarrels.  "  The  whole  history  of 
European  Empire  in  India  begins  with  the  interference  of 
the  French  in  the  war  of  succession  in  Hyderabad  that 
broke  out  on  the  death  of  the  great  Nizam  ul  Mulk 
(1748)."3 

The  war  of  tlie  Austrian  Succession  will  then  be  briefly 
treateil  as  really  the  first  stage  in  the  conflict  which  ended 

^  Seeley,  op.  cit.,  i)p.  130,  13iJ. 

*  Paikiuau,  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  Vol.  I.,  p.  22. 

»  Seoley,  op.  cit.,  p.  203. 


262  THE    TEACHINO    OF    HISTOKY. 

witli  the  Seven  Years'  War.  The  first  appearance  of 
Prxissia  as  an  important  factor  in  European  politics  Avill  be 
noted.  Here  stands  out  the  figure  of  Fredericlc  the  Great, 
who,  "  with  smiles  on  his  Hp  and  anguish  at  his  heart, 
watched,  manoeuvred,  and  fought  with  cool  and  stuhborn 
desperation."  '  By  fixing  attention  on  America  and  India 
it  will  be  seen  that  there  was  no  real  cessation  of 
hostilities  between  the  nominal  close  of  the  former  war 
and  the  formal  beginning  of  the  latter. 

The  Seven  Tears'  War  is  of  momentous  importance,  and 
made  even  picturesque  by  the  heroic  figures  of  the  elder 
Pitt,  Frederick  the  Great,  Olive,  and  Wolfe.  Its  course 
should  be  traced  in  Europe,  America,  and  India,  not  in 
detail,  but  in  bold  outline.  "  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  three  of  its  many  victories  determined  for  ages  to 
come  the  destinies  of  mankind.  With  that  of  Rossbach 
beo-an  the  re-creation  of  Germany,  the  revival  of  its 
political  and  intellectual  life,  the  long  process  of  its  union 
under  the  leadership  of  Prussia  and  Prussia's  kings.  With 
that  of  Plassey  the  influence  of  Europe  told  for  the  first 
time  since  the  days  of  Alexander  on  the  nations  of  the 
East.  The  world,  in  Burke's  gorgeous  phrase,  '  saw  one 
of  the  races  of  the  north-west  cast  into  the  heart  of  Asia 
new  manners,  new  doctrines,  new  institutions.'  With  the 
triumph  of  Wolfe  on  the  heights  of  Abraham  began  the 
history  of  the  United  States."  - 

The  results  of  the  war  must  be  emphasised.  "  Tlie 
Seven  Years'  War  made  England  what  slie  is.  It  crippled 
the  commerce  of  her  rival,  ruined  Fi-anee  in  two  continents, 
and  blighted  her  as  a  colonial  power.  It  gave  England 
the  control  of  the  seas  and  the  mastery  of  North  America 
and  India,  made  her  the  first  of  commercial  nations,  and 

1  Parkman,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  402. 

2  Green,  Short  [History  of  the  Englifih  People.,  p.  757. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  263 

prepared  that  vast  colonial  system  tliat  has  planted  new 
Euglauds  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe."  ^ 

Tlie  revolt  of  the  American  colonies  will  next  occupy  atten- 
tion. It  must  be  seen  how  the  overthrow  of  the  French 
power  in  America  made  it  possible  for  the  colonies  to  dis- 
pense with  the  protection  of  the  mother  country.  Neither 
the  unreasonableness  of  the  colonists  nor  the  unwisdom 
of  English  statesmen,  with  such  honourable  exceptions  as 
Burke  and  Pitt,  should  be  hidden.  The  history  of  the 
struggle  is  not,  in  itself,  fascinating,  but  the  figure  of 
Washington  is  heroic,  and  the  result  is  one  of  the  most 
momentous  the  world  has  yet  seen.  It  was  the  birth  of  a 
nation  which  in  little  more  than  a  century  "  has  tamed  the 
savage  continent,  peopled  the  solitude,  gathered  wealth 
untold,  waxed  potent,  imposing,  redoubtable."  * 

The  twelve  years  which  intervened  between  the  close  of 
the  Seven  Tears'  War  and  the  outbreak  of  the  American 
revolt  had  seen  more  peaceful  victories.  "  In  the  year 
which  followed  the  Peace  of  Paris  two  English  ships  were 
sent  on  a  cruise  of  discovery  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan; 
three  years  later  Captain  Wallis  reached  the  coral  reefs  of 
Tahiti ;  and  in  1 768  Captain  Cook  traversed  the  Pacific 
from  end  to  end,  and  wherever  he  touched,  in  New  Zealand, 
in  Australia,  he  claimed  the  soil  for  the  English  Crown, 
and  opened  a  new  world  for  the  expansion  of  the  English 
race." ' 

The  last  phase  of  modern  history  has  now  been  reached. 

National  rights  and  the  balance  of  power  are 
Period -Ideas.   ^^^^   forces,   but   the   characteristic   of   this 

last  pei-iod  is  the  influence  of  ideas.     The 
beginnings  of  this  influence  are,  of  course,  to  be  found 

^  Parkman,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  5-6. 
*  Parkinan,  op.  cit..  Vol.  II..  p.  429. 
'  Green,  op.  cit.,  p.  758. 


264  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

earlier ;  indeed,  tlio  American  Declaration  of  Independence 
enunciates  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  French  Eevolu- 
tion.  But  it  is  with  the  latter  event  that  the  force  of 
ideas  becomes  predominant.  The  chief  of  these  guiding 
clues  to  the  histor}^  of  the  last  century  are  the  ideas  of 
nationality,  liberty,  and  humanity.  No  full  account  can 
be  attempted  of  this  part  of  history,  for  the  movements 
are  often  exceedingly  complex.  It  is  better  to  treat  in 
some  detail  typical  instances  of  the  predominance  of  each 
idea. 

The  outbreak  of  the  French  Eevolution  must  be  seen  as 
the  inevitable  result  of  the  system  perfected  by  Louis  the 
Fourteenth  and  perpetuated  by  his  successors.  The  early 
English  sympathy  with  the  movement  should  be  made 
plain — a  sympathy  alienated  by  the  excesses  of  the  French. 
The  wars  which  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  convulsed  Europe 
will  not  be  treated  in  detail,  but  the  aims  of  the  various 
great  campaigns  should  be  shown,  and  such,  leaders  as 
Napoleon,  Nelson,  and  Wellington  will  stand  out  in  bold 
relief.  Though  all  Europe  was  involved,  the  war  will  be 
seen  to  have  been  essentially  a  renewal  of  the  duel  between 
England  and  France,  and  the  key  to  Napoleon's  policy 
will  be  found  in  his  efforts  to  recover  for  France  her  place 
in  the  New  World.  "  He  sees  in  England  never  the 
island,  the  European  State,  but  always  the  World-Empire, 
the  network  of  dependencies  and  colonies  and  islands 
covering  every  sea."  ' 

Among  the  events  dealt  with  in  the  period  of  the 
Napoleonic  wars  should  be  the  partition  of  Poland 
between  Russia  and  Prussia,  for,  says  Dr.  Stubbs, 
"  it  seems  to  me  that  the  partition  of  Poland  .  .  .  was  the 
event  that  forced  the  idea  of  nationality  upon  1  he  world."  ^ 

'  Seoley,  op.  cif.,  p.  Xi.  ■  Op.  cit.,  p.  27J. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  265 

The  workings  of  this  idea  should  he  shown  in  the  libera- 
tion of  Greece  and  the  Danube  provinces  from  the 
Turkish  yoke,  the  unification  of  Italy,  the  consoUdation 
of  Germany,  and,  above  all,  in  the  growing  feeling  of 
a  common  nationality  between  the  scattered  parts  of  the 
British  Empire.  The  important  influence  in  this  latter 
respect  of  the  applications  of  steam  and  electricity  to  the 
means  of  communication,  really  knitting  the  parts  of  the 
world  more  closely  together,  should  not  be  neglected.  The 
groAvth  of  the  EngHsh  power  in  India  and  its  consolidation 
after  the  Mutiny  should  be  broadly  touched  upon. 

The  increasing  influence  of  the  ideas  of  liberty  and 
humanity  may  be  illustrated  by  the  abolition  of  slavery 
first  in  England,  aftei-Avards  in  the  United  States,  whilst 
the  Civil  War  which  followed  the  latter  event  gives  a 
further  illustration  of  the  force  of  the  idea  of  nationality. 

The  expansion  of  the  power  of  Russia  must  be  shown, 
and  it  will  be  well  to  trace  briefly  Russia's  story  since  the 
time  when,  under  Peter  the  Great,  she  first  became  of 
European  importance. 

These  topics  will  involve  sufficient  reference  to  the 
great  wars  of  the  last  hundred  years. 

Considerable  attention  should  be  given  to  the  industrial 
and  commercial  development  which  began  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  has  done  so  much  to  alter  the  conditions  of 
human  life.  The  invention  of  the  steam  engine,  the  use  of 
coal,  the  application  of  machinery  to  industry,  the  con- 
sequent growth  of  the  factory  system  with  its  attendant 
evils  and  blessings,  the  increase  of  population  and  the 
shifting  of  its  greatest  density  from  the  south  and  east 
to  the  north,  the  abolition  of  the  Corn  Laws,  factory 
legislation,  the  improvement  of  communication  by  roads, 
canals,  railways,  steamships,  and  telegraphs,  the  institution 
of  a  cheap  and  effective  postal  system,  the  spread  of  the 


266  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTOET. 

means  of  education,  are  examples  of  topics  wliicli  touch 
present-day  life  at  every  point  and  are,  therefore,  pro- 
foundly interesting  and  instiiictive  to  the  young. 

Some  lessons,  too,  may  lie  given  on  the  relations  of  civic 
life.  The  history  course  should  not  have  omitted  to  trace 
the  steps  of  parliamentary  reform  by  which  the  repre- 
sentative system  has  been  made  more  effective.  The  ideas 
thus  gathered,  and  those  derived  from  eveiy-day  life  on 
such  subjects  as  government,  elections,  taxation,  civic  duty 
and  rights,  may  now  be  knitted  together  and  made  more 
explicit.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  these 
subjects  are  not  very  attractive  to  children,  whose  knoAv- 
ledge  of  them,  moreover,  will  naturally  increase  as  they  grow 
older.  Care  should,  therefore,  be  taken  not  to  make  such 
instruction  either  detailed  or  fi'equent.  Practical  exercise 
in  social  functions,  however,  which  is  involved  in  the  service 
of  pupils  on  committees  to  manage  various  forms  of  social 
organisation,  such  as  school  sports,  is  altogether  good.  The 
best  training  in  citizenship  is  indirect.  When  a  boy  has 
learnt  what  he  owes  to  his  counti-y,  he  will  feel  that  his 
country  has  a  right  to  demand  service  of  him,  that  citizen- 
ship not  only  confers  rights  but  imposes  obligations.  And 
the  surest  way  to  arouse  this  feeling  is  by  teaching  him 
history  to  bring  home  to  him  the  debt  he  owes  to  those 
heroes  of  religion,  culture,  discovery,  commerce,  industry, 
politics,  and  empire  that  have  made  England  what 
she  is. 

8.  It  remains  to  consider  briefly  the  mode  in  which  such 
a  course  may  be  made  most  successful.  The 
Form  of  ^^^^^^  ^^  must  be  remembered,  is  so  to  impart 

historical  knowledge  that  a  keen  and  per- 
manent interest  is  excited  in  the  pupils,  and  to  train  in 
thpm  the  power  to  use  books,  through  which  alone  thev 
can  give  scope  to  tliat  interest  in  after  life. 


THK    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  267 

There  will  then  be  need  for  three  main  forms  of  presen- 
tation— by  text-book,  by  oral  teaching,  and  by  additional 
reading;  each  of  which  should  be  supplementary  to  the 
others. 

The  text-book  should  more  and  more  become  the  back- 

,    „  bone  of  the  instruction  as  the  pupils  advance 

The  Text-book.   .  „,  ^        n     ;i      t        •  i, 

in  age.     Ihe  general  method  ot  using   such 

a  book  has  already  been  indicated.'  Suffice  it  here  to  say 
tliat  the  reading  should  be  made  pui'poseful  by  well  chosen 
preliminary  questions  ;  fruitful  by  being  talked  over  by 
the  teacher,  and  its  results  enlarged,  organised,  and  vivified 
by  his  more  copious  and  definite  knowledge ;  and  of  per- 
manent value  by  furnishing  the  material  for  written 
exercises  which  demand  more  and  more  power  both  of 
judgment  and  of  analysis  and  synthesis  as  tlie  pupils 
become  more  mature. 

A  good  text-book  should  be  one  written  by  an  author 
who  is  competent  at  once  as  a  scholar  and  a  teacher.  Too 
many  of  those  in  common  use  are  mere  pieces  of  liack- 
work,  the  study  of  which  engenders  prejudice  and  false 
notions  even  when  it  does  not  lead  to  disgust  with  the 
whole  subject.  The  true  teacher  of  history  will  be  very 
careful  in  his  choice  of  a  text-book.  It  should  contain  a 
well  chosen  selection  of  facts,  with  important  dates, 
grouped  so  as  to  bring  out  the  leading  movements.  There 
should  be  plenty  of  maps,  and  a  few  genealogical  tables 
to  throw  light  on  such  feudal  disputes  as  the  claims  to 
the  thrones  of  France  and  Scotland  made  by  English 
kings. 

Illustrations  in  text-books  are  not  important,  for  their 
function  is  generally  best  served  by  the  use  of  large 
pictures  and  lantern  slides  which  can  be  talked  over  by 

'  Si'c.  pp.  S-i-4. 


268  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY. 

teacher  aud  class  and  so  form  centres  round  which  the 
discussion  of  tlie  matter  which  has  been  studied  may  be 
grouped.  If  they  are  present,  however,  they  should  not 
be  fancy  pictures  of  events,  but  such  as  really  help  in 
the  understanding  of  the  life  of  the  past,  similar 
indeed  to  the  class-pictures  which  will  be  spoken  of  on  a 
later  j)age. 

The  teacher  who  wishes  to  adopt  such  a  course  as  we 
have  sketched  will  find  himself  somewhat  limited  in  the 
choice  of  class  text-books,  for  the  great  majority  of  those 
written  for  primary  schools  deal  only  with  English  histoiy. 
Several  text-books  on  general  European  history  have, 
however,  recently  been  published. 

Even  when  a  good  text-book  has  been  found,  its 
bi'evity  necessitates  that  it  should  be  but 
an  outline  which  must  be  supplemented, 
filled  out,  and  vivified.  The  text-book  work  should,  there- 
fore, be  fitted  into  a  course  of  oral  teaching.  In  the  oral 
lessons  it  is  important  at  once  to  avoid  overloading  Avith 
facts  and  to  escape  the  danger  of  an  abstract  treatment. 
The  ideas  and  topics  worked  out  in  the  last  section  are 
guides  for  the  teacher,  not  formulas  to  be  given  to  the 
pupils.  Characteristic  events  described  in  sufiicient  detail 
to  secure  vividness  in  life,  and  grouped  imder  the  influence 
of  those  leading  thoughts,  will  make  the  tendencies  of 
movements  clear  to  the  pupils.  The  teacher's  revisions 
and  his  summaries  on  the  blackboard — which  in  all  cases 
he  should  have  prepared  beforehand — are  further  helps  in 
securing  the  desired  result. 

The  oral  lesson  and  the  study  of  the  text-book  should  be 
interwoven  in  every  possible  way.  The  former  should  con- 
tinually appeal  to  knowledge  derived  from  tlie  latter,  and 
the  discussions  on  the  latter  can  often  be  made  an  integral 
part  of  the  former. 


THE    TEACHING   OF    HISTORY.  269 

Tt  is  in  the  oral  teaching  that  ilkistrations  are  most 
effectively  used,  for  there  they  can  be  dis- 
cussed in  detail.  Moderate  sized  pictures  of 
which  each  pupil,  or  every  two  pupils,  can  have  a  copy  are 
in  many  cases  the  most  effective.  Those  of  value  in  the 
text-book  can  be  so  used,  and  they  may  be  supplemented 
by  such  pictures  as  are  contained  in  Messrs.  Horace 
Marshall's  sei'ies  of  Historical  Albums.  Large  pictui'es  for 
class  teaching  have  also  their  function,  and  when  these  are 
used  it  is  essential  that  the  pupils  should  have  easy  access  to 
them  at  times  when  the  lessons  in  history  are  not  actually  in 
progress,  so  that  they  may  pore  over  them  till  the  instruction 
conveyed  has  become  an  integral  part  of  their  historical 
knowledge.  Now  that  the  lantern  can  be  used  without 
darkening  the  room,  slides  are  very  effective  modes  of 
pictorial  illustration  ;  they  can  be  produced  at  small  cost, 
and  as  the  selection  rests  entirely  with  the  teacher,  they 
can  be  adapted  to  his  teaching  more  perfectly  than  is 
possible  with  pictures. 

Whether  pictures  or  slides,  it  is  not  the  number  but  the 
quality  that  is  important.  Accuracy  is  essential,  and  the 
illustrations  must  be  such  as  help  the  pupils  to  picture 
the  past,  not  such  as  attempt  to  picture  it  for  them. 
Portraits  of  great  men ;  views  of  places  where  important 
events  occurred;  examples  of  ecclesiastical,  feudal,  and 
domestic  architecture — cathedrals,  churches,  monasteries, 
castles,  fortitied  towns,  guildhalls,  houses  in  town  and 
country  ;  armour,  arms,  and  implements  of  war ;  siege 
operations ;  tournaments ;  the  instruments  of  industry  in 
various  ages  ;  means  of  transport — roads,  bridges,  waggons, 
ships  at  successive  periods,  early  railway  engines  and  trains  ; 
costumes  and  pastimes  of  the  people  at  different  times — 
such  are  the  illustrations  which  are  really  of  help  in 
studying  and  teaching  history.     It  is  most  desirable  that 


270  fHB    I-EACHINQ    Of    HISTORY. 

the  school  library  should  contain,  and  the  pupils  Le  allowed 
free  access  to,  such  books  as  the  illustrated  edition  of 
Green's  Short  History  of  the  English  People,  Barnard's 
Companion  to  English  History  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
Lavisse  and  Parmentier's  Album  Historique,  which  con- 
tains in  its  four  volumes  over  five  thousand  pictures 
relating  to  mediaeval  and  modern  history. 

But  far  better  than  any  picture,  however  good  it 
may  be,  is  an  example  of  the  actual  thing. 
Visits  to  Pull  use  should,  therefore,  be  made  of  any 

Sclntere^t^"  historic  remains  in  the  neighbom-hood  by 
taking  the  pupils  to  examine  them  at  the 
time  they  are  being  spoken  of  in  the  lessons.  Districts 
vary  much  in  the  advantages  they  offer  for  vivifying 
history  by  this  means.  Few  places  can  furnish  such 
typical  illustrations  of  earlier  life  as  York,  Avith  its  Eoman 
tower,  its  walls  and  their  gates,  its  castle,  its  minster,  abbey 
ruins,  and  churches,  its  guildhall,  its  examples  of  domestic 
architecture  from  the  manor  house  to  the  tradesman's  dwell- 
ing. Winchester,  London,  Chester,  Norwich,  Worcester, 
Shrewsbviry,  and  many  other  towns  oifer  similar  advan- 
tages. But  at  most  places  an  old  church  at  least  is 
within  reach.  In  many  is  a  museum  in  which  are 
exhibited  old  armour,  arms,  and  implements  of  industry. 
Whatever  there  is  should  be  utilised  to  the  full. 

Mere  indefinite  looking  at  such  objects  is  worthless ; 
they  must  fit  into  their  appropriate  setting  of  knowledge. 
If  the  pupils,  then,  are  to  be  taken  to  see  the  remains  of  a 
castle  or  monastery,  they  should  be  prepared  to  examine 
them  intelligently,  by  means  of  a  lesson  in  school  which 
brings  out  the  purpose  such  buildings  served,  and  the 
kind  of  structure  adapted  to  secure  it.  As  a  record  of 
this,  each  should,  imder  the  teacher's  guiilance,  draw  a 
rough  plan.     The  reasonableness  of  the  old  planning  will 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  271 

ofteu  Le  brought  out  by  the  childreu's  power  of  inferring 
its  general  outlines  from  their  appreciation  of  the  inten- 
tion of  the  building.  Armed  with  these  plans  teacher  and 
class  should  then  visit  the  ruins  and  go  through  them 
systematically,  recalling  the  purpose  of  each  part  and 
noting  its  adaptation  to  that  purpose.  The  visit  should 
be  followed  by  a  lesson  in  which  a  vivid  description  is 
given  of  life  in  monastery  or  castle  in  the  olden  time, 
which  thus  knits  together  and  revises  all  that  has  been 
learnt. 

Of  comse,  the  same  buildings  may  be  visited  more  than 
once,  each  time  with  a  special  purpose.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  one  can  exhaust  mediaeval  life  in  an  hour. 
The  castle,  for  example,  after  having  been  examined  from 
the  general  point  of  view,  may  be  visited  again  to  empha- 
sise its  defensive  character :  such  a  visit  would  be  a  good 
preparation  for  a  lesson  on  a  siege.  Or  monastic  ruins 
might  on  a  second  visit  be  viewed  as  exemplifying  the  suc- 
cessive phases  of  church  architecture.  Comparison  should 
be  made  with  old  churches  in  the  neighbourhood,  which 
slioidd  also  be  visited.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  arousing 
in  children  an  interest  in  such  a  subject  as  this,  nor  is  the 
general  and  typical  knowledge  which  should  be  given  them 
difficult  either  to  acquire  or  to  impart.  Its  value  in  adding 
interest  and  giving  meaning  to  almost  every  place  visited 
in  after  life  is  obvious. 

It  is  easy  when  visiting  a  building  to  keep  the  pupils' 
attention  fixed  on  the  right  points.  When  the  object  to 
be  examined  is  in  a  museum  this  is  more  difficult.  The 
children  naturally  tend  to  let  their  observation  flit  from 
thing  to  thing.  There  are  few  ways  of  wasting  time  more 
absolutely  than  by  indiscriminate  looking  at  manv  objects, 
and  few  places  offer  more  temptation  to  this  than  does  a 
museum.     Pupils  as  Avell  as  teacher  should,  tlien,  know 


272  THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTcmT. 

the  kiud  of  things  they  are  gomg  to  examine,  and  shouki 
enter  the  museum  with  an  interest  in  just  those  things 
aroused  by  the  school  teaching.  The  teacher  should  know 
exactly  -where  to  find  the  objects  he  wishes  to  bring  under 
his  pupils'  notice,  and  should  be  prepared  generally  with 
remarks  and  questions  which  will  help  them  to  keep  their 
eyes  and  thoughts  in  the  right  direction.  The  visit  has 
then  every  chance  of  being  profitable. 

In  addition  to  text-book  and  oral  lesson,  supplementary 

historical  reading  is  required.  The  two 
Readine^^^  ^^  former  aim  at  following  the  main  current 

of  alfairs  hand  in  hand  ;  the  latter  at  throw- 
ing side-lights  on  the  main  topics.  It  is  clear,  then,  that 
the  text-book  should  never  be  used  as  a  reader,  nor  the 
reader  as  a  text-book.  In  the  fifth  and  sixtli  years  such 
books  as  Mr.  Finnemore's  two  little  volumes  on  Social 
Life  in  England  ^  should  be  put  into  the  pupils'  hands. 
These  are  short,  and  other  readings  may  be  chosen 
by  the  teacher  from  Plutarch's  Lives  or  Froissart's 
Chronicles,  or  from  a  book  of  extracts  from  con- 
temporary writers,  which  may  either  be  read  aloud  to 
the  class  by  the  teacher  or  by  individual  pupils,-  ur,  if 
the  book  is  in  the  school  library,  may  be  read  jirivatelv 
by  the  pupils  in  turn.  This  must  obviously  be  decided  by 
the  size  of  class  and  library  and  by  the  teacher's  knowledge 
of  what  is  best  fur  his  pupils.  In  all  cases  tlie  supple- 
mentary reading  should  bear  on  the  systematic  work  then 
in  hand.  Historical  novels  as  well  as  histories  furnish 
uuich    suitable    supplciiieiitary    reading,  but    the    teacher 

'  Puhlislicd  by  Alcsars.  A.  and  C.  Black. 

-  Books  of  extracts  suitable  for  class  reading  arc  Uie  Illiislrutlce 
Uinloricd  published  l)y  Messrs.  H.  Marshall  and  Son.  The  teacher 
will  lintl  many  extracts  ^\hich  he  may  read  to  the  class  in  Mr. 
liobinsuu'u  excellent  lltailiiKjH  in  Euro^iKin  Jliv/ori/.     (Ciinn  &.  Co.) 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  273 

should  ouly  recommend  those  which  succeed  in  giving  a 
true  historieal  atmos2)here.  Historical  poetry  should  also 
be  pressed  into  the  service ;  nothing  is  more  calculated  to 
rouse  the  feeling  of  enthusiasm  without  which  history 
teaching  is  like  seed  planted  on  stony  ground. 

In  the  seventh  year  the  class  is  usually  not  very  large, 
and  the  pupils  are  old  enough  to  work  a  great  deal  by  and 
for  themselves.  The  supplementary  reading  should  here 
largely  take  the  form  of  working  out  some  easy  topic  set 
by  the  teacher  from  books  indicated  by  him,  not,  as  in  the 
younger  classes,  of  reading  certain  specified  pages.  It  is 
evident  that  a  librai-y  is  absolutely  necessary  if  this — the 
highest  work  in  history  of  which  the  primary  school  is 
capable — is  to  be  carried  out. 

In  connection  with  all  these  forms  of  teaching  the  pupils 
should  keep  note-books  in  which  they  should 
enter  the  summaries  of  the  teacher's  oral 
lessons,  abstracts  of  theu*  text-book  study,  references  to 
illustrative  passages  in  their  supplementary  reading,  sketch 
maps,  and  drawings  of  parts  of  places  visited  and  of 
some  of  the  simpler  pictorial  illustrations.  In  a  word, 
they  should  be  thus  trained  to  work  at  a  subject  in  a 
way  most  profitable  to  themselves.  No  uniformity  in 
detail  should  be  insisted  on ;  the  teacher  will  find  he  has 
a  quite  sufiiciently  difficult  task  in  training  each  pupil — 
even  though  he  has  two  or  three  years  in  which  to  do  it — 
to  become  fairly  adept  at  self-instruction.  In  every  note- 
book there  should  be  a  Time-Chart — a  long  line  divided  at 
regular  intervals  into  periods  of  a  century,  on  which  the 
pupil  should  enter  the  most  important  events,  writing 
those  which  refer  to  England  on  the  one  side  and  those 
which  have  no  such  direct  reference  on  the  other. 

Throughout,  history  and  geography  should  go  hand  in 
hand.  Histury  without  geography  is  largely  unintelligible, 
PB.  XCi.  18 


^74!  THE    TEACHING    O^    HISTORY. 

and  geogi'aphy  without  history  is  devoid  of  human  interest. 

As  Carlyle  wrote  to  one  of  his  nephews : 
Connection  "  ^g  to  subjects  for  reading,  I  recommend 
Geography.        i^    general   all    kinds    of    books    that    will 

give  you  real  information  about  men,  their 
works  and  ways,  past  and  present.  History  is  evidently 
the  grand  sul^ject  a  student  will  take  to.  Never  read  any 
such  book  without  a  map  beside  you ;  endeavour  to  seek 
out  every  place  the  author  names,  and  get  a  clear  idea  of 
the  ground  you  are  on  ;  without  this  you  can  never  under- 
stand liim,  much  less  remember  him.  Mark  the  dates  of 
the  chief  events  and  epochs ;  write  them ;  get  them  fixed 
into  your  memory — chronology  and  geography  are  the  two 
lamps  of  history."^ 

To  work  successfully  such  a  scheme  as  has  been  sug- 

_,.      ^      .     ,   gested    obviously    requires    that    a    larger 
Tune  Required.  ^  .  .  ,  .  , 

amount  of  time   be  given  to  history   than 

is  usual  in  English  primary  schools.     We  believe  that  the 

great   culture   value   of   the   subject  quite   justifies  this. 

Three  hours  a  week  direct  teaching,  either  by  text-book  or 

by  oral  lessons,  in  addition  to  the  supplementary  reading 

and  the  written  exercises — which,  of  course,  are  lessons  in 

English  as  well  as  in  History — will  be  found  sufficient, 

and  is  not  more  than  the  value  of  the  subject  justifies. 

We  will  end  this  chapter  even  as  we  began  it,  and  in 
doing  so  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  the 
last  paragraph  of  Mr.  Somervell's  very  sug- 
gestive article  on  the  teaching  of  modern  history  in 
Mr.  Barnett's  Teaching  and  Organisation.'^     He  writes  : — 

"Methods  are  after  all  but  the  'dry  bones  '  of  teaching. 
'  There  are  very  many  in  the  open  valley ;  and  lo,  they  are 
very  dry.'     He  only  who  has   a  genuine  interest  in  the 

1  Quoted  bj'  Hinsdale,  llow  to  Htudy  and  Teach  Ilidory^  p,  94. 

2  Pa-e  179. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  275 

story  of  the  past,  sympathy  with  the  paiuful  efforts  and 
the  slow  achievements  of  men,  aud  not  less  with  their 
failures  and  their  ignorance,  can  make  the  dry  bones  live. 
He  only  can  gain  for  himself  or  impart  to  others,  through 
the  study  of  History,  not  merely  an  addition  to  know- 
ledge, but  the  real  spirit  of  History — a  keen  insight,  a 
wide  sympathy,  a  balanced  judgment,  an  unfaltering  love 
for  truth.     While  he  who  regards  the  characters  of  his 
pupils  as  of  more  value  than  their  attainments,  Avho  is 
quick   to    see,   in   the   little   world   of   school,    the   same 
elements  of  good  and  evil,  the  same  forces  of  a,mbition 
and   humility,    of   honour  aud   cowardice,   of   truth   and 
falsehood,  the  zeal  for  duty  and  the  'great  refusal,'  the 
self-seeking  and  self-sacrifice,  that  have  shaped  the  History 
of  Nations,  will  find  in  his  lessons  moments  of  opportunity 
which  it  will  be  his  highest  of  all  duties  to  turn  to  good 
account." 

The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  : — 
On  (he  Ttaching  of  History  : 
t*Bourne ;     The    Teaching    of    History    and 

Civics...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     G/-   (Longmans). 

Harrison  :    The  Meaning  of  History,   Chs. 

i.-iv S/(3  (^.lacmillan). 

fKeatinge  :   Studies  in  the  Teaching  of  His- 
tory      4/0  net     (Black). 

(A  most  suggestive  woik  on  the  use  of  probleiiis 
in  teacliing  Histoiy.) 

On  the  Connection  of  History  ami  Geography  : 

Freeman  :  Historical  Geography  of  Europe  12/6  (Longmans). 

Freeman  :  Atlas  to  Hist.  Geog.  of  Em-ope...  6/(3  (Longmans). 

George :     Geography    in    Connection   with  4/6  (Clarendon 

History  Press). 

tGeorge :    Historical   Geography   of    Biiti.sh 

Empire  3/6  (Methuen). 

Taylor:  Words  and  Places 6/-    (Macmillan). 

*  These  contain  useful  bibliographies, 
t  These  are  specially  reconmiended, 


276 


THE    TEA.CHING    OF    HISTORY. 


On  the  Matter  of  History  : 

Wilmot-Buxton  :  The  Ancient  AVoild        ..,  3/6  (ISTethncn). 

Oman  :  History  of  Greece     4/6  (Longmans). 

Wells  :  History  of  Rome       3/6  (Methuen), 

t*Myers  :  Ancient  History       7/6  (Oinn). 

*Mycrs  :  Middle  Ages  .  ...         5/-    (Ginn), 

*Myers  :  Modern  Age  6/-    (Ginn). 

Bryce  :  Holy  Roman  Empire  7/6  (Macmillan). 

*Emcrton  :  Introduction  to  Middle  Ages    ...  5/-    (Ginn). 

*Emerton  :  Mediaeval  Europe  7/6  (Ginn). 

*Adams  :  European  History 6/6  (Macmillan). 

"'Bourne:  Mediaeval  and  Modern  History  .. .  7/6  (Longmans). 

*Hassal  :  Brief  Survey  of  European  History  4/6  (Blackie). 

t*Robinson  :  History  of  Western  Europe     ...  7/6  ((Jinn). 

Church:  Beginnings  of  Middle  Ages  ...  2/6  (Longmans). 

Jolmson  :  Normans  in  Europe  2/6  (Longmans). 

Cox  :  The  Crusades 2/6  (Longmans). 

Scebohm:  Protestant  Reformation 2/6  (Longmans). 

Creighton  :  Age  of  Elizabeth  2/6  (Longmans). 

tGreen :     Short    History     of     the     English 

People  8/6  (Macmillan). 

tSceley  :  The  Expansion  of  England  ...  4/-    (Macmillan). 

IMcCarthy :    Short    History    of    our    Omu  6/-    (Chatto  and 

Time Windus). 

tWarner  :  Landmarks  in  English  Industrial 

History  '-/-    (Blackie). 

t*Barnard  :    Companion  to  English  History :  3/6  (Clarendon 

Middle  Ages Press). 

tJcssop  :  Coming  of  Friars  and  other  Essays       3/6  (Unwin). 
tjusserand :     Englisli    Wayfaring     Life    in 

Middle  Ages 2/6  (Unwin). 

Cornish:  Chivalry       4/6  (Sonnen- 

Oman  :  The  Art  of  War  :  Bk.  III.,  Chs.  2,  schein). 

3.  f),  6,  7  ;   Bk.  VI.,  Chs.  2,  6,  7  ;   Bk. 

VII.,  Chs.  1,  2  ;  Bk.  VIII.,  Chs.  1,  2,  3  10/-    (Methuen). 


*  These  contain  useful  bibliograpliies. 
t  These  arc  specially  recommended. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    HISTORY.  277 

Source  Books: 

t*Robiiisou:  Readings  in   European  History 

(2  vols.),  each  ;.     7;.   ^^.j^^^^ 

(An  abridged  edition  in  1  vol.  is  published  at  7/-.) 
Colby :  Selections  from  Sources  of  Englisli 

T^      j   ,7-^c,       ■"•r.      ^/'    (Longmans). 

Kendall :  Source  Book  of  English  History       3/6  (Macmillan) 
Illustrative  Histories  (4  vols. ),  each       2/-  or  2/6  (H  Marshall). 

(Specially  suited  for  reading  by  pupils.) 
Englisli  History  from  Original  Sources.     A 
series  of  volumes  each  covering  about  a 

century,  each  2/6  (Black). 

(ExceUent  readers  for  intelligent  upper  classes.) 
Class  Tpxt-Bool:!^: 

Howard  :  Mediaeval  History  2/6  (H.  Marshall). 

(loo  advanced  for  all  but  exceptionally  good 
classes.  Admirably  suited  to  the  needs  of 
pupil-teaclieis  and  higlier  forms  in  secondary 
schools.) 

Wilmot-Bux ton  :  Makers  of  Europe         ...     3/6  (Methuen) 

(Very  brightly  written.  The  best  text-book  for 
pupils  under  l-l,  but  needs  to  be  supplemented 
by  a  text-book  on  English  History.) 

Britain  as  Part  of  Europe 1/6  (E.  Arnold) 

Wardens  of  Empire 1/6  (E_  A.^^j^l 

(Together  constitute  a  good  text-book  for  schools 

whose  pupils  generally  leave  at  the  end  of 

the  sixth  year.      The  latter  deals  with  the 

growth  of  the  British  Empire.) 

tKeatinge  and  Frazer :  A  History  of  England 

for  Scliools,  with  Documents,  Problems, 

and  E.\-ercises  ...  /^z     /tji     i  \ 

,T      ,     ,,   ^  -J/-    (Black). 

(Invaluable  for  problem  work.) 

Kemp  :    History  for  District  and  Graded 

Schools  ...  (7^    /re        > 

.„,  „      .       4/6  (Ginn). 

(Well  written,  but  centre  of  interest  in  Ameiica. 
May  be  found  suggestive  by  teachers.) 


*  These  contain  useful  bibliographies, 
t  These  are  specially  recommended. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOCRAniT. 

1.  Geography  lias  been  often  defined  as  tlie  study  of 
the  earth  in  its  relations  to  man.  Excellent 
Geograpli°^  as  this  definition  is  when  the  end  is  a  sci- 
entific structure  of  knowledge  of  the  earth, 
yet  when  the  purpose  is  to  influence  the  development  of 
the  mind  on  the  human  side,  it  fixes  the  centre  of  interest 
too  much  on  the  earth  and  too  little  on  man.  As  an 
instrument  of  education  geography  Avould  be  better  defined 
as  the  study  of  man  in  his  relations  to  the  earth. 

A  knowledge  of  man,  of  the  relation  of  men  and  peoples 
to  each  other,  and  of  their  dependence  on  physical  con- 
ditions is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  determining  range 
of  sympathies,  breadth  of  outlook,  and  grasp  of  human 
problems.  For  this  reason  literature  and  history  have 
their  high  place  in  a  true  and  complete  scheme  of  instruc- 
tion. For  the  same  reason  geography  shovild  rank  with 
them.  Literature  unfolds  man's  inner  natiu'c :  it  ranges 
over  the  gauuit  of  human  passions  and  aspirations.  History 
presents  us  with  man  in  his  relations  to  his  fellows :  it 
considers  the  development  of  nations  and  the  national 
spirit.     Geography  exhibits  a  third  fundamental  relation — 

1  15y  W.  P.  Welpiuii,  B.Sc. 
278 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOaHAPHY.  279 

the  physical  aspect  of  niau's  activity  in  relation  to  the 
material  things  around  him.  It  shows  men  of  every  race, 
in  every  part  of  the  earth,  under  different  circumstances  of 
climate,  soil,  and  material  resources,  adapting  themselves 
to  their  physical  surroundings  and  their  physical  sui'round- 
ings  to  their  own  needs  and  ideals.  It  deals  "with  politics, 
commerce,  industry,  agriculture,  customs  and  habits,  re- 
ligion, art  and  thought  of  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  and 
enquires  how  these  are  dependent  on  physical  conditions 
and  suited  to  them.  Though  human  forces  have  been 
operative,  yet  natural  forces  have  modified  their  effects. 
Geography  is  concerned  with  those  natural  influences  of  soil, 
climate,  material  resources,  natural  defences,  and  means  of 
communication  that  have  had  some  part  in  the  rise,  pro- 
gress, and  decay  of  nations,  in  determining  where  cities 
and  towns  were  built,  in  deciding  where  commerce 
flourishes  and  where  it  stagnates,  and  in  stamping  some 
people  as  tillers  of  the  soil,  some  as  herders  of  cattle,  some 
as  toilers  underground,  some  as  workers  amid  the  smoke 
and  noise  of  industry,  and  some  as  reamers  of  the  wide 
seas.  It  shows  how  mountain  ranges,  rivers,  deserts, 
climate,  and  the  blue  line  of  the  sea  have  moulded  the  life 
of  a  people  and  made  for  or  against  its  progress. 

Though  its  story  at  every  point  brings  out  the  depend- 
ence of  man  on  nature,  yet  it  exhibits  man's  industry, 
resource,  adaptability,  and  imconquerable  energy.  "When 
nature  smiles  and  bestows  her  gifts  in  plenty  man  iises 
her  with  joy  and  gladness ;  when  she  frowns  he  rises 
stern  and  hard  above  her  and  subdues  her  to  his  will.  He 
turns  barren  wastes  into  smiling  fields,  carves  roads  over 
rugged  mountains  and  vast  plains,  harnesses  the  mighty 
forces  of  the  seas,  the  heavens,  and  the  rushing  torx-ent, 
builds  cities,  harbours,  fleets,  and  railroads.  Rivers, 
mountains,   seas,   winds,  sun,  moon,   and   stars,  and  the 


280       THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGEAPHT, 

clouds  tliemselves  are  all  turned  to  use,  and  in  the  conflict 
the  character  of  a  nation  is  formed. 

Geography  not  only  shows  the  dependence  of  man  on 
natiu'e  and  his  conquest  of  her,  it  also  presents  him  in 
dej)endence  on  the  activity  of  his  fellows.  Nations  do  not 
live  alone,  but  in  economic  and  political  communion  with 
each  other.  Further,  they  are  bound  together  in  common 
ties  of  religion,  culture,  and  civilisation.  Much  of  our 
thought,  our  art,  our  code  of  laws,  and  our  language  we 
owe  to  other  nations.  Just  as  we  receive  the  products 
of  their  hands,  so  we  receive  the  products  of  their  higher 
life  of  thought  and  ciilture,  and  we  return  each  in  kind. 
Greography  essentially  brings  home  to  us  oiir  complete 
dependence  on  world-wide  activities,  human  and  physical. 
Through  it  we  more  consciously  realise  how  many  forces 
and  how  many  hands  and  brains  have  worked  in  order  to 
prepare  not  only  the  food  we  eat  and  the  clothing  we  wear, 
but  the  knowledge  we  possess,  the  arts  we  admire,  and  the 
laws  we  revere.  As  Emerson  says,  "The  private  poor 
man  hath  cities,  ships,  canals,  bridges  built  for  him.  He 
goes  to  the  post  office  and  the  human  race  runs  on  his 
errands,  to  the  book  shop  and  the  human  race  reads  and 
writes  of  all  that  hapj)ens  for  him,  to  the  court  house  and 
nations  repair  his  wrongs."' 

The  story  that  geography  tells  with  man  as  the  centime 
of  interest  is  a  great  one,  throblnng  with  human  passion 
and  interest,  and  of  vital  human  importance.  This 
story  is  too  wonderful,  too  varioi;s  and  changing,  ever 
to  lack  interest  or  fail  to  arouse  sympathy,  for  our  hearts 
go  out  to  our  fellow  beings  in  struggle,  whether  it  l)e  with 
human  foes,  with  destiny,  or  with  the  forces  of  natiire.  Geo- 
graphy, if  presented  solely  as  a  picture  and  explanation  of 

^  Essay  on  Commodity. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 


281 


the  forces  of  the  eartli,  hicks  this  human  interest  and  fails 
to  arouse  sympathy,  tliongli  it  may  hokt  the  mind  in 
admiration  and  awe  at  the  mighty  grandeur  and  wonderful 
Tariety  it  depicts. 

Breadth  of  human  sympathy,  insight  into  human  nature, 
interest  in  human  problems,  and  a  full  sense  of  the  de- 
pendence of  man  on  nature  and  on  his  fellows  are,  then, 
the  effects  of  a  right  study  of  geography ;  and  it  is  for 
this  reason  that  geography  should  hold  as  high  a  place  in 
the  studies  of  the  rising  generation  as  do  history  and 
literature.  Tliis  trio  of  subjects,  each  dealing  w^ith  funda- 
mental aspects  of  human  nature,  bring  the  child  out  of 
that  self-centred  individualism  which  is  the  main  charac- 
teristic of  the  young  and  the  uncultured. 

The  child  is  by  instinct  self-centred;  his  inborn  sym- 
pathies tend  to  narrowness ;  his  social  activities  move 
freely  onl}^  in  a  narrow  field  within  the  family  circle  and 
among  his  companions.  He  views  all  questions  mainly  in 
their  effects  on  his  own  welfare.  Gradually,  as  his  ex- 
perience widens  and  his  activities  develop,  he  begins  to 
realise  that  there  is  a  human  w^orld  beyond  his  narrow 
circle,  where  life  is  more  varied,  wider,  freer,  and  higher 
than  his  own.  To  extend  his  sympathies  is  the  aim  of 
the  teaching  of  geography.  The  advantages  of  travel  in 
widening  a  man's  outlook  and  enlarging  his  sympathies 
have  long  been  recognised  by  all,  though  enjoyed  by  com- 
paratively few.  "  Travel  in  the  younger  sort,"  says  Bacon, 
"  is  a  part  of  education ;  in  the  elder  a  part  of  experience." 
To  study  geography  is  to  travel  in  imagination,  for  the 
subject  matter  brings  distant  peoples  and  lands  near  to 
those  who  stay  at  home. 

The  pupil's  sympathies  should  not  limit  themselves  to 
his  own  circle,  nor  his  purposes  and  aims  take  account 
only  of  a  narrowly  patriotic  good,     Olu'istianity  teaches  us 


282  THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGEAPHY. 

that  all  are  brothers,  and  to  all — white,  black,  or  yellow — 
should  the  hand  of  fellowship  and  friendly  interest  be 
extended.  Such  a  broad  fellowship,  based  on  a  full  sense 
of  each  nation's  life  and  work  and  of  the  dependence  of 
each  on  all,  the  study  of  geography  should  cultivate.  The 
pupil  should  feel  to  the  utmost  of  his  imagination  that  the 
world  contains  other  peoples  differing  widely  from  his  own 
in  thought,  in  language,  in  systems  of  government,  in 
religious  life,  in  national  ambitions,  and  whose  national 
tendencies  lead  in  many  diverging  and  sometimes  conflict- 
ing directions.  With  this  wider  experience  of  the  life  of 
other  nations,  and  with  a  fuller  realisation  of  the  inter- 
dependence of  peoples,  he  can  view  himself  and  his  own 
country  in  truer  perspective.  To  know  only  ourselves 
is  not  to  know  ourselves:  to  know  ourselves  truly  we 
must  know  others.  As  Emerson  says,  "  A  foreign 
country  is  a  point  of  comparison  wherefrom  to  judge  his 
own." 

The  other  nations  of  the  world  should,  then,  be  presented 
to  the  pupil  with  generous  sympathy  and  with  a  sense  of 
the  dependence  of  his  own  on  them  and  its  duty  to  them. 
Distant  China  and  India  have  their  lessons  equally 
with  modern  Grermany  and  America,  and  in  learning 
something  of  these  old  world  civilisations  the  pupil  may, 
perhaps,  be  led  to  reflect  that  the  hurry  and  rush  of 
America  and  the  calculating  method  and  organisation  of 
Germany  have  only  accentuated  one  side  of  life  to  the 
neglect  of  others  equally  worthy.  He  will  thus  grow 
more  tolerant  of  the  national  aims  of  others,  be  governed 
less  by  insular  prejudices,  become  more  sensible  that  there 
is  room  and  need  for  every  variety  of  national  activity, 
and  realise  that  all  should  live  together  in  harmony  and 
mutual  forbearance,  trying  to  see  in  all  things  what  is  the 
highest  good  of  the  human  race, 


THK    TEACTIINO    OF    GEOGRAPHY.  283 

2.  Geography,  dealing  with  man  and  nature,  has  intimate 

connections  witli  history  on  the   one   hand 

Eelation  with     r^^^  with  nature  study  on  the  other.     On  the 
other  Subjects.  ,  •  i     -j^     •         t         •   .  •  ^  i 

human  side  it  gives  descriptions  or  peoples 

with  Avhose  place  in,  and  influence  on,  the  progress  of  civil- 
isation history  deals  ;  and  on  the  naturalistic  side  it  shows 
the  dependence  of  man  on  physical  contour,  soil,  climate, 
vegetable,  animal,  and  mineral  productions,  the  properties 
of  which  it  is  the  tast  of  nature  study  to  investigate. 
Two  kinds  of  forces,  one  human,  the  other  physical, 
have  influenced  the  advance  or  retardation  of 
civilisation.  Keligious  fervour,  quickening 
thought,  and  commercial  and  industrial  enterprise  on  the 
one  side,  and  fanaticism,  ignorance,  and  barbarism  on 
the  other,  are  some  of  the  liiunan  agencies ;  while  climate, 
fertile  plains,  broad  flowing  rivers,  wild  mountains,  dense 
forests,  arid  deserts,  malarial  swamps,  and  maritime  facili- 
ties are  among  the  many  physical  influences  that  have 
determined  the  fate  of  nations.  History  deals  with  the 
former  agencies ;  geography  with  the  latter.  But  no  line 
can  be  drawn  to  fix  the  bounds  of  the  physical  and  human 
spheres.  Their  influences  are  so  interwoven  in  the  web  of 
events  that  to  unravel  and  separate  each  from  each  is 
beyond  the  wit  of  man.  Hence,  the  study  of  geography  is 
intimately  and  intricately  liound  up  with  that  of  history, 
while  the  physical  aspect  of  history  seeks  its  explanation 
in  the  study  of  geography. 

Every  step  in  civilisation  exemplifies  the  connection 
between  physical  conditions  and  historical  movements. 
Britain's  proud  place  in  the  modern  world,  as  that  of  Eome 
and  of  Greece  in  the  past,  is  partly  due  to  physical  circum- 
stances. The  proximity  of  Greece  to  the  ancient  civili- 
sations of  Egypt  and  Persia,  combined  with  her  wealth 
of  coastline  and  the  maritime  propensities  it  cultivated, 


284  THE    TEACHING    OP    OEOGRAPHT. 

encouraged  intercourse  with  these  peoples  and  made  her 
the  first  of  western  civilisations,  Rome,  as  the  centre  of 
the  ancient  known  world,  "wdth  sea  communications  spread- 
ing throughout  the  Mediterranean,  was  admirably  situated 
for  expanding  her  dominions  and  governing  a  huge  empire. 
After  the  discovery  of  America  and  the  Cape  route  to  the 
East,  the  centre  of  influence  changed  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and  the  Spanish,  Portu- 
guese, Dutch,  French,  and  English  raced  for  a  world  empire. 
Though  last  to  start,  the  English  by  their  dogged  courage, 
adventurous  spirit,  commercial  enterprise,  and  sturdy  in- 
depend3nce  won  the  prize.  These  qualities,  moreover,  to 
which  England  owes  her  success,  are  in  themselves  partly 
the  result  of  physical  conditions.  The  j)roximity  of  her  posi- 
tion to  the  Western  coasts  of  Europe  gave  her  a  share  in 
all  the  great  European  movements.  Yet  the  influence  of 
these  movements  was  modified  by  the  narrow  strip  of  blue 
that  gave  Englishmen  an  independence  in  thought,  in 
politics,  in  religion,  and  a  national  spirit  and  insularity, 
that  have  manifested  themselves  not  only  in  the  rapid  de- 
velopment of  free  national  institutions,  but  also  in  many  a 
striclven  field  from  Crecy  to  Waterloo,  and  so  have  changed 
the  history  of  the  world. 

Physical  conditions  not  only  influence  the  development 
of  the  movement  of  civilisation,  but  even  determine  where 
civilisation  begins.  Broad  fertile  valleys  have  all  seen  the 
rise  of  organised  industry  and  government,  and  barren 
wastes  and  rugged  mountains  have  been  the  last  to  be 
penetrated  by  their  influence.  Mountain  ranges,  desert 
tracts,  and  pathless  swamps  serve  as  barriers  to  human 
progress  and  limit  that  commercial  and  social  intercourse 
among  the  peoples  on  which  political  unity  and  stability 
depend.  On  the  other  hand,  a  country  intersected  by 
broad  navigable  rivers,  not  barred  by  rugged  hills  and  not 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  285 

divided  by  patliless  wastes,  is  happily  situated  for  the 
rapid  growth  of  national  spirit  and  a  united  government. 
Hence  the  importance  in  the  history  of  India  of  the 
Himalayas  and  Hindu  Koosh  and  the  deserts  beyond,  and 
in  the  history  of  the  Swiss  of  their  mountain  uplands,  on 
which  armies  have  dashed  themselves  in  vain.  The  com- 
pact nature  of  Spain  and  of  Af  lica,  combined  with  the  lack 
of  navigable  waterways  and  the  presence  of  dense  foi'ests 
or  barren  tracks,  hindered  their  commercial  and  political 
progress  until  the  last  century,  for  it  is  only  the  railway 
engine  that  can  easily  penetrate  beyond  the  narrow  mari- 
time slopes  that  ring  these  countries,  and  to  which  civilisa- 
tion was  for  long  confined.  Only  with  the  development  of 
intercommunication  can  civilisation  spread. 

As  in  the  larger  movements  of  history,  so  in  ita  details, 
geograpliical  conditions  play  their  part.  If  we  ask  to  what 
circumstances  some  city,  fortress,  or  harbour  owes  its  import- 
ance, the  answer  is :  Its  geographical  position.  The  entrance 
to  mountain  passes,  the  fords  across  great  rivers,  the  meet- 
ing-place of  many  roads,  the  point  of  convergence  of  several 
valleys,  the  proximity  to  areas  of  settled  industry,  some 
point  of  vantage  in  rock  or  river,  are  positions  that  see  the 
rise  of  great  towns.  Campaigns  have  succeeded  or  failed 
largely  owing  to  the  degree  of  success  with  which  the 
opposing  armies  have  utilised  the  geographical  features 
of  the  country  in  attack  and  defence.  The  victories  of 
Austerlitz  and  Marengo,  the  retreat  from  Moscow,  and 
the  '  Spanish  Ulcer '  illustrate  this  principle  with  un- 
doubted force. 

Human  action  and  physical  environment  are,  thus,  in 
constant  interaction,  and  history  must  lean  for  much  of  its 
explanation  on  geography.  So  close  and  so  fundamental 
is  this  relation  that  the  geography  of  a  country  should, 
as  far  as  possible,  be  taught  in  connection  with  its  histoiy, 


286  THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGEAPHT. 

that  light  may  be  thrown  on  those  physical  conditions  that 
have  influenced,  and  still  continue  to  influence,  the  national 
character  and  welfare,  and  that  have  made  for  the  nation's 
larger  or  smaller  share  in  the  progress  of  the  world. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  connection  of  geography  with 
the  study  of  natural  forces  and  phenomena 
Study*^'^^         is  equally  close.     Knowledge  of  the  move- 
ments   of    the    earth    and    moon,    of    the 
structure    of    rocks     and    of     the    action    on    them    of 
weather,  rivers,  and  sea,  of  animal  and  plant  life,  and  of 
the   dependence  of   each   on   climate,   is   of   the   greatest 
importance  in  considering  the  uses   to  which   man  turns 
his  physical  environment.     A  foundation  of  such  know- 
ledge should  be  laid  in  tlie  lessons  on  natto-e  study  and 
physical  geography,  and  the   principles   there  taught  re- 
ceive exemplification  in  the  study  of  the  geography  of  the 
district  and  of  every  country  in  the  world.     One  of  the 
great  advantages,  indeed,  that  the  child  receives  from  a 
study  of  geography  is  that  it  gives  fuller  meaning  to  many 
of  the  social  and  physical  phenomena  that  come  under  his 
immediate  obser  vat  ion  in  every  -  day  life.    Almost  everything 
he  comes  across  in  his  home  and  the  surrounding  district 
has  some  direct  or  indirect  geographical  value.     The  break- 
fast table,  the  clothes  he  wears,  the  house  that  shelters 
him,  the  articles  of  daily  use  in  home  and  school,  all  are 
exemplifications  of   commercial   intercourse.     The   village 
stream,   the    neighbouring   moorland,   the   fertile  valley, 
present   on  a  small   scale  geogra,phical  principles  of  the 
widest  application.     Nothing  is  more  likely  to  stimulate 
the  young  observer  than  to  find  fragments  of  information 
and  the  articles  of  daily  use   taking  their  place  in   an 
organised  scheme  of  knowledge.     He  may  thus  be  led  to 
see   the    value    of    keeping   his   mind   alert   on    physical 
phenomena   and  social  activities  and   to  find  in  them  a 


The  teaching  of  geography.       287 

fuller  and  wider  meaning  tlian  his  first  casual  observation 

would  lead  him  to  expect. 

3.  Geography  is  perhaps  the  widest  and  most  extensive 

_  .    .  ,  subiect  in  the  school  curriculum.     It  ranj^es 

Prmciplea  ,.  ^       ^  °^ 

governing  o^^i'  every  clime  and  embraces  every  race.    It 

Selection  of       attempts  to  picture  and  to  explain  the  peoples 

of  the  earth  amid  their  siirroundings ;  their 

various  activities  in  thought,  religion,  art,  economics,  and 

politics.     Even  those  simpler  portions  of  the  subject  that 

are  suited  to  the  pm'poses  of   school  insti-uction  are  so 

extensive  that  a  careful  selection  of  topics  is  essential  if 

confusion  is  not  to  result. 

It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  human  interest  out- 
weighs the  physical,  and  that  the  purely 
ValuT^  physical  shotdd  be  studied  especially   with 

reference  to  its  bearing  on  human  life.  This 
cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasised.  No  part  of  the  brief  time 
which  the  school  can  give  to  geography  should  be  occupied 
with  that  which  has  no  relation  to  man.  What  bears  on 
human  life  as  it  is,  or  as  it  came  to  be  what  it  is,  inspires  the 
deepest  human  interest,  and  is  of  the  greatest  human  value. 

Even  when  the  human  side  is  dominant  the  problems 
geography  investigates  are  so  various  that  it  is  necessary 
to  lay  down  some  broad  principles  which  should  guide 
the  selection  of  topics.  This  is  the  more  important  as  the 
serious  and  systematic  study  of  general  geography,  as  of 
general  history,  cannot  begin  with  pupils  under  ten  or 
eleven  years  of  age.  In  the  few  remaining  years  of  school 
life  only  the  most  important  and  essential  aspects  of  the 
life  of  each  people  can  be  considered. 

The  depth  and  breadth  with  which  any  country  is 
studied  should  depend  on  the  importance  of  its  relations  to 
the  great  movements  of  history  and  to  modern  tendencies. 
India,  as  part  of  ovu'  empire  and  as  the  home  of  a  typical 


288  THE    TEACHING   OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

Eastern  civilisation,  should  be  examined  in  detail.  The 
various  races,  how  they  came  there,  how  they  live  together 
without  mixing,  their  religions,  customs,  and  ambitions, 
their  art  and  their  industries,  should  be  pictured  in  care- 
ful detail.  How  a  handful  of  Englishmen  govern  them, 
and  the  method  and  aims  of  the  government  are  also 
important  questions.  On  the  other  hand,  Persia,  Siberia, 
and  the  republics  of  South  America  need  be  sketched  only 
in  very  broad  outline. 

Each  country  should  be  considered  as  having  certain 
aspects  and  features  of  vital  moment  to  its  own  people 
and  to  us.  To  know  these  fully,  to  understand  them,  to 
enter  into  them  with  generous  sympathy  is  the  work  before 
the  pupils.  All  else  is  irrelevant  and  is  unworthy  of 
attention.  For  example,  except  as  the  birthplace  of 
European  civilisation  and  as  a  factor  in  the  national 
troubles  of  the  Near  East,  Greece  has  httle  importance. 
The  Turkish  conquest  and  the  growth  of  national  spirit  and 
ambitions  are  the  all-important  questions  in  the  Balkan 
peninsula.  The  early  discoveries,  the  Dutch  farmers,  the 
native  question,  the  gold  fields,  racial  animosities,  and 
federation  are  the  vital  topics  in  South  Africa.  Each 
country  has  its  own  special  and  peculiar  problems,  and 
the  teacher,  in  selecting  the  topics  for  discussion  and  in 
deciding  the  point  of  view  from  which  they  shall  be  re- 
garded, should  weigh  in  the  balance  carefully  each  country 
and  each  important  aspect  of  its  life. 

In  presenting  the  selected  aspects  of  each  people  the  aim 
should  be  to  give  a  conception  of  them  that  is  true,  complete, 
and  living.  The  danger  is  that  the  teacher  Avill  confuse 
fulness  of  treatment  with  multiplicity  of  details.  Each 
aspect  should  be  presented  in  broad  outline  with  bold,  free, 
spirited  treatment.  It  should  be  a  sketch,  and  yet  be  alive 
with  character  and  feeling.     Hence,  suHicient  illustrative 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHT.  289 

detail  should  be  given  to  give  vividness  and  individuality 
to  the  outline.  The  details,  however,  should  not  crowd 
and  obscure.  They  should  be  grouped  and  arranged  about 
the  main  vital  topics,  so  as  to  bring  these  out  in  bold 
relief,  throw  light  on  them,  and  present  them  to  the 
imagination  of  the  pupils  with  colour,  form,  and  life. 
Descriptions,  pictures,  lantern  slides,  maps,  models,  speci- 
mens, all  have  their  use  in  giving  detail,  but  it  is  a  use 
subordinate  to,  and  illustrative  of,  these  most  vital  topics 
that  should  stand  out  before  the  children's  minds  as  the 
centres  of  interest  and  of  value. 

The  value  of  the  teaching,  then,  will  not  be  measured  by 
the  num1)er  of  facts  retained  by  the  pupils. 

Subordination    ^.^^^^^  -^^  themselves  are  worthless.    They  only 

of  Facts  *^         •' 

overburden  the    mind   and   hinder  the  free 

movement  of  intelligence.  Facts  are  of  use  just  in  so  far  as 
they  are  interpreted  by  the  principles  that  imderlie  them, 
illustrate  those  principles,  and  give  them  a  wider,  deeper,  and 
more  rational  meaning.  Such  principles  bind  into  a  rational 
unity  experiences  of  seemingly  widely  different  character. 
The  value  of  the  teaching  will  be  shown  by  the  pupil's 
grasp  of  principles,  by  his  power  to  interpret  new  problems 
by  means  of  them,  by  his  keenness  and  acuteuess  in 
searching  for  evidence  to  bear  out  some  possible  hypothesis, 
by  his  enlightened  interest  in  broader  and  deeper  problems 
of  human  importance,  and  by  his  desire  to  read  further  and 
to  seek  greater  knowledge  of  the  races  of  the  earth. 

Facts  that  are  not  grouped  into  a  system  to  ilkistrate 
some  important  topic  have  no  legitimate  place  in  teach- 
ing. Neglect  of  this  principle  has  deadened  and  devital- 
ised much  of  the  teaching  of  geography.  Too  frequently 
the  geography  lesson  has  been  a  mere  jumbled  heap 
of  facts  with  no  links  to  bind  them  into  rational 
unity,  mere  lists  of  cape*,  bays,  mountains,  rivers,  towns, 

PR.  TG,  19 


290  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

and  iudustries  culled  from  a  text-book,  presented  like  an 
index,  illustrative  of  nothing,  leading  to  nothing,  driven 
into  the  mind  and  held  there  like  nails  into  a  board. 
The  mind  readily  grasps  and  remembers  facts  that  are 
related  to  each  other  and  centred  round  some  important 
topic  or  principle.  The  facts  then  help  each  other,  and 
the  mind  starting  with  one  easily  recalls  the  rest.  Yet 
even  when  facts  are  taught  in  relation  to  each  other  too 
much  attention  may  be  paid  to  the  memorising  of  them, 
for,  once  used,  they  often  have  little  further  value  in  the 
progress  of  the  subject.  Once  the  principle  is  grasped 
and  the  topic  vividly  characterised  the  individual  facts  have 
often  played  their  part  and  may  then  be  left  to  the 
gazetteer,  the  atlas,  or  the  text-book,  whence  they  can 
be  obtained  if  required  without  the  mind  being  turned 
into  a  store-house  of  more  or  less  useless  geographical 
lumber. 

Yet  memorising  is  an  essential  and  vital  feature  of 
teaching  in  geography  as  in  any  other  subject.  The  study 
of  no  subject  can  attain  anything  of  breadth  or  of  depth 
unless  the  facts  and  principles  necessary  to  a  steady  pro- 
gress are  thoroughly  mastered.  A  certain  skeleton,  a 
solid  nucleus  of  memorised  data  is  the  first  condition  of 
successful  advaiice.  Hence,  recapitiilation  of  important 
matters,  repetition  varied  to  secm-e  fresh  interest  and 
frequent  enough  to  drive  home  must  lay  the  basis  on 
which  a  sound  superstructure  can  be  built. 

In  considering  the  contents  of  a  scheme  of  study  in 
geography  it  is  important  to  remember  how 
Relation  to  closely  geography  may  be  related  to  the  out 
Experienced^  of  school  Hfe  of  the  pupil.  Even  nature 
study  has  its  limitations  in  this  respect  and 
cannot  be  so  Avell  adapted  as  social  geography  to  the  needs 
of  schools  in  the  largest  industrial  centres,  in  which  the 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  291 

familiar  knowledge  of  the  pupils  is  rather  of  facts  and  rela- 
tions of  industrial  and  commercial  life  than  of  the  works 
of  nature.  The  method  of  teaching  geography  may,  there- 
fore, follow  without  strain  the  important  educational 
principle  Avhich  ijisists  that  the  work  of  the  school  should 
be  so  related  to  the  general  life  of  its  pupils  as  to  give  ful- 
ness of  meaning  and  of  interest  to  that  life.  But  instruc- 
tion should  go  still  further.  It  should  not  only  give  added 
interest  and  fuller  meaning  to  the  general  life  of  the  pupils, 
but  it  should  lead  them  step  by  step  to  a  higher  and  more 
complex  life  beyond.  Thus,  while  the  mode  of  approach- 
ing the  subject  at  first  will  be  determined  by  the  natural 
and  social  surroundings  of  the  school,  yet,  growing  out  of 
this,  the  instruction  must  enlarge  and  deepen  the  mental 
range  of  the  scholars  by  introducing  them  in  imagination 
to  problems  of  a  higher  and  more  complex  character,  in  the 
understanding  of  which  they  will  more  clearly  comprehend 
the  varying  phenomena  of  nature  and  enter  more  fully  and 
sympathetically  into  the  lives  of  peoples  widely  different 
from  themselves. 

The  starting-point,  however,  is  the  life  of  the  district,  a 
life  that  must  be  viewed  in  all  its  aspects — physical,  com- 
mercial, and  social.  It  cannot  be  expected  that  young 
childi-eu  can  enter  into  this  life  very  fully  or  understand  it 
deeply.  Yet  here  is  the  beginning ;  for  all  knowledge 
grows  out  of  experience,  and  knowledge  is  deeper  and  more 
real  the  more  closely  it  is  bound  up  with  the  most  vivid 
experience — experience  that  makes  up  the  very  warp  and 
woof  of  daily  life.  Hence  the  pupils'  earliest  geographical 
knowledge  should  be  of  their  own  district,  and  afterwards 
should  embrace  other  districts  round  about ;  next  their  own 
country  and  the  rest  of  the  United  Kingdom  ;  then  Europe 
and  North  America,  where  the  conditions  of  life  are  some- 
what similar  to  our  own,  and  where  the  people  are  bound  to 


292  THK  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY. 

US  by  many  ties  of  blood,  interest,  language,  and  a  common 
past ;  eventually  extending  to  districts  whose  peoples  are 
more  remote  from  us  in  interests  and  tliouglit,  and  who 
touch  our  own  lives  at  but  few  points.  In  this  way  the 
interests  and  sympathies  of  the  pupils  will  gradually 
expand  and  embrace  a  wider  and  wider  circle ;  yet  all  will 
be  kept  in  relation  to  themselves,  and  much  will  receive 
meaning  and  interpretation  through  the  knowledge  gained 
by  the  careful  study  of  the  conditions  and  circumstances  of 
their  own  lives. 

The  principle  of  building  on  the  experience  gained  by  a 
close  study  of  the  school  district,  valuable  as  it  is,  must  not 
be  carried  too  far.  There  is  much  in  foreign  lands  and  in 
the  lives  of  foreign  peoples  that  cannot  be  explained  by 
reference  to  such  experience  and  that  stands  out  in  marked 
contrast  to  it.  The  races  and  religions  of  India  and  China, 
the  black  peoples  of  Africa,  the  great  forests  and  prairies 
of  America,  the  hot  deserts  of  Asia  are  widely  different 
from  anything  with  which  the  pupils  are  famihar.  They 
are  in  bold  and  striking  contrast  to  the  every-day  scenes  of 
home.  Much  of  the  teaching  of  geography  must  consist  in 
introducing  the  pupils  to  such  strange  scenes  and  to  such 
new  conditions  of  life,  and  many  and  various  must  be  the 
devices  used  to  secvire  that  they  realise  them  to  the  utmost 
of  their  power.  Nor  is  it  wise  to  leave  the  whole  of  such 
teaching  till  the  later  years  of  school  life.  There  is  much 
in  the  life  of  Eskimo,  Arab,  Chinaman,  and  Hindu  that 
will  interest  the  young  child  and  will  lead  him  to  reflect 
on  the  variety  of  ways  in  which  human  beings  adapt  them- 
selves to  their  sui'roundings. 

To  obtain  a  really  sound  knoAvledge  of  the  fundamentals 
of  geography,  systematic  and  regular  school  excursions  are 
necessary.  The  function  of  these  should  be  to  systematise 
and  develop  the  interest  of  the  pupils  in  what  is  going  on 


THE  TEACHING  OP  GEOGRAPHY.  293 

around  them,  so  that  on  their  walks  they  will  note  many 
things  of  social  and  natural  interest.  It  is  clear  that  the 
country  school  has  many  advantages  in  dealing  with  phy- 
sical geography,  while  the  commercial  and  social  life  around 
it  is  far  less  complex  than  is  the  case  in  towns.  The  diffi- 
culty in  towns  is  that  the  details  of  social  and  commercial 
life  crowd  on  the  pupils  in  too  great  a  profusion,  while 
physical  phenomena  are  obscured  by  miles  of  paved  streets 
and  rows  of  houses.  The  questions  of  social  life,  however, 
should  be  singled  out  one  by  one.  The  town  hall,  the 
policeman,  the  tramways,  the  public  parks,  the  market,  the 
railway  station,  and  the  multitude  of  shops  are  all  external 
signs  of  a  corporate  life.  The  essential  elements  of  phy- 
sical geography  should  be  studied  in  the  public  parks  or  in 
the  immediate  environs  of  the  town.  Though  differing 
somewhat  in  the  details,  country  and  town  geography  in 
the  main  will  follow  the  same  general  scheme. 

4.  The  study  of  geography,  then,  begins  with  the  simple 
The  Geo  ranhv  P^^y^i*^^!  ^^^  social  facts  to  be  met  with  in 
of  the  Neigh-  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  school, 
bourhood.  r^^J^^l  cluring  the  first  and  second  years  of  the 

upper  school  the  teaching  will  be  mainly  confined  to  lead- 
ing the  pupils  to  discover  all  the}'  can  about  this  area  and 
to  explaining  in  a  simple  way  what  they  see.  The  investi- 
gation of  the  neighbourhood  will  not  cease  at  the  end  of 
the  second  year.  Much  interesting  and  important  work  in 
the  study  of  physical  relations,  of  rocks,  and  of  contour  can 
only  be  done  when  the  pupils  are  older.  Indeed,  the  most 
valuable  work  in  geology  and  in  measuring  and  represent- 
ing contour  should  be  left  until  the  last  year  of  school 
hfe. 

In  studying  the  district,  resort  should  be  made  to  class 
excursions.  As  has  been  already  mentioned,  a  village 
school  is  better  situated  than  a  town  school  for  geogi'aphical 


294  THE  TEACHING  OP  GEOGRAPHY, 

excursious,  tliougli  tlie  latter  should  malce  the  best  use 
it  can  of  its  parks  and  environs,  especially  those  in  which 
stream,  hill,  and  valley  can  be  found.  Fortunate  indeed 
is  the  school  wher^  a  compact  valley  with  Avinding  stream, 
waterfall,  lahe,  alluvial  flat,  and  hilly  peaks  can  be  found 
in  a  narrow  compass  and  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 
Not  many  excursions  each  year  are  necessai-y,  and  some  of 
these  can  well  be  combined  with  those  in  connection  with 
nature  study ;  others  need  only  be  short — a  half -hour  to 
an  hour  in  length — just  sufficient  time  to  note  some  few 
definite  particulars  about  hill-side  or  stream  on  which  the 
teacher  wishes  the  class  to  dwell.  Every  excursion  should 
be  cai-efully  prepared  for,  so  that  the  pupils  know  exactly 
the  nature  of  the  problems  they  go  forth  to  try  to  solve ; 
and  on  their  return  the  information  gained  should  be 
turned  to  definite  use  in  the  making  of  plan  or  model,  or 
in  a  course  of  lessons  on  physical  phenomena. 

The  greatest  need  in  the  first  two  years  of  the  teaching 
is  to  stimulate  the  pupils  to  observe  carefully  and  to  think 
about  what  they  have  observed.  They  should  see  for 
themselves  whatever  is  within  reach.  But  the  teacher 
should  not  hesitate  to  give  simple  explanations  and  addi- 
tional information  when  either  will  be  of  value.  The 
power  of  conception  and  imagination  of  young  children  is 
not  great,  so  that  the  teacher's  main  function  will  be  to 
lead  them  to  find  in  what  they  know  or  have  observed 
imperfections  of  such  a  character  that  a  little  more  careful 
observation  and  thought  will  enable  them  to  arrive  at 
f  idler  knowledge.  By  suggesting  unsolved  problems  whicli 
become  ever  more  and  more  difficidt  and  numerous,  the 
teacher  should  help  them  to  gain  the  power  of  bringing 
what  they  already  know  to  aid  in  giving  meaning  to  newly 
observed  facts,  and  of  looking  out  for  fresh  facts  to  ex- 
emplify more  fully  explanations  of  well-known  phenomena. 


THE  TEACHING  OP  GEOGRAPHY  .  295 

The  teacher  should  not  try  to  clear  away  every  difficulty 
as  it  arises,  but  should  endeavour  to  whet  the  children's 
curiosity  by  sugf^estiug  that  an  observation,  of  which  the 
drift  has  been  only  partially  apprehended,  should  be  re- 
peated or  enforced  by  other  observations  which  the  teacher's 
practised  eye  sees  that  they  have  omitted  to  make.  He 
should  tell  just  enough  to  sustain  their  interest,  but  not 
more  ;  children  resemble  their  grown  up  friends  very  closely 
in  caring  little  for  what  they  can  secm*e  easily,  but  in  pur- 
suing zealously  that  which  they  can  see  a  chance  of 
obtaining  by  their  own  efforts,  however  great  may  be  the 
difficidties  in  the  way. 

In  this  way  the  early  work  in  physical  geography  will 
be  founded  upon  the  earlier  nature  study  lessons  and  will 
grow  naturally  out  of  them.  The  meaning  of  common 
geographical  terms,  such  as  hill,  valley,  and  river  will 
become  familiar  to  the  pupils,  who  will  on  the  school  ex- 
cursions constantly  meet  with  examples  of  them. 

It  will  be  well  to  give  in  some  detail  an  account  of  what 
shoidd  be  done  in  the  early  study  of  physical 
Studv^^*^^^^  geography  before  mapping  is  imdertaken. 
The  course  of  a  river  or  stream  forms  a  good 
starting-point.  An  example  of  a  stream  may  be  found 
almost  anywhere  within  walking  range  of  the  school ;  if 
children  cannot  get  into  the  country,  streams  may  be 
found  in  the  parks ;  as  a  last  resource,  an  unpaved  road  or 
a  piece  of  bare  ground  may  be  examined  after  a  heavy 
shower,  and  will  furnish  examples  true  to  nature  of  almost 
every  kind  of  river  action. 

All  the  pupils  will  have  seen  enough  of  a  stream  to 
know  the  most  obvious  facts  about  it — that  it  consists  of 
flowing  water  which  keeps  a  definite  channel,  and  that  it 
flows  from  higher  to  lower  ground.  This  implicit  know- 
ledge should  be  made  explicit  by  means  of  conversation 


296  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY. 

lessons,  aud  the  children  should  express  clearly  their  idea 
of  the  essential  qualities  of  a  river.  An  obvious  problem 
to  suggest  would  be :  Where  does  the  water  come  from  ? 
A  stream  should  be  observed  in  rainy  weather  and  in  dry 
weather,  and  the  young  observers  should  be  requii'ed  to 
account  for  the  difference  noticed.  Some  of  the  water 
evidently  comes  from  rain,  as  a  greater  or  less  amovxnt  of 
rain  makes  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  amount  of 
water  in  the  stream. 

A  further  problem  may  be  suggested  by  asking  why  any 
water  comes  down  in  dry  weather.  Some  streams  then 
dry  up,  whereas  others  only  diminish  in  volume.  The 
pupils  should  make  a  list  of  streams  in  the  district  which 
have  been  known  to  cease  flowing  in  summer,  and  of  others 
which  continue  to  flow  all  the  year  round.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  streams  which  do  not  dry  up  are  the  larger  ones. 

But  whence  comes  their  supply  of  water  ?  Appeal  is 
again  made  to  nature  :  Who  has  seen  the  beginning  of  a 
stream  ?  What  is  it  like  ?  A  lesson  on  springs  yields  the 
fact  that  water  oozes  out  of  the  ground  in  many  places, 
sometimes  in  just  sufficient  quantity  to  keep  the  ground 
damp,  sometimes  bubbling  out  and  forming  a  stream  of 
moderate  size.  The  volume  of  a  spring  will  be  found  to 
vary,  being  greatest  a  little  while  after  heavy  rain  and 
least  in  dry  weather,  when  some  springs  actually  disappear. 
In  every  case  the  spring  gives  rise  to  a  stream,  which, 
uniting  with  others,  forms  a  larger  and  larger  stream. 
Various  terms,  such  as  source,  tributary,  confluence,  right 
and  left  bank,  may  here  be  introduced. 

To  make  clear  the  work  done  by  streams,  the  water  of  a 
stream  should  be  examined  in  dry  weather  and  after  rain. 
It  will  be  found  to  be  clear  in  the  former  case  and  turbid 
in  tlie  latter.  Collect  a  bottle  of  turl)id  water  ;  allow  the 
water  to  stand  for  some  time  :   the   amount  of  sediment 


THE  TEACHING  OP  GEOOKAPHV.  297 

obtaiued  will  be  a  surprise  to  all.  Where  has  this  sedi- 
ment come  from  ?  Where  is  it  going  to  ?  Notice  how  the 
stream  cuts  into  its  banks.  What  will  be  the  result  if  this 
goes  on  for  a  very  long  time  ?  Notice  pebbles  in  streams. 
Why  ai-e  some  rounded  ?  Why  are  not  all  rounded  ? 
Trace  the  history  of  a  pebl)le  and  of  a  grain  of  sand.  Notice 
where  the  sti'eam  enters  a  pond :  a  flat  stretch  of  mud  is 
produced.  Why  is  this  ?  What  will  be  the  effect  of  this 
in  the  course  of  time? 

The  close  connection  discovered  between  streams  and 
rainfall  will  dii-ect  the  attention  to  wmds  and  clouds. 
These  should  be  observed  daily,  and  the  results  tabulated 
and  preserved :  it  should  be  noticed  which  are  the  warm 
winds  and  which  the  cold ;  which  winds  are  accompanied  by 
rain  and  which  are  dry ;  what  kinds  of  clouds  are  seen  in 
windy  weather,  dry  weather,  showery  weather,  etc.  Much 
may  be  said  in  favour  of  systematic  observation  of  atmo- 
spheric conditions  throughout  the  whole  of  school  life,  with 
a  view  to  forming  the  habit  of  observing  them.  Such  ob- 
servations can  only  be  systematic  when  the  results  are 
recorded  in  some  definite  form  of  weather  diary.  The  sky 
may  nearly  always  be  seen,  even  in  towns,  and  is  always 
beautiful ;  to  accustom  the  children  to  see  its  beauties  and 
to  read  its  story  will  be  to  increase  greatly  their  capacity 
for  enjoyment. 

Simple  observations  may  be  made  of  the  apparent  move- 
ments of  the  sun  and  stars.  A  stick  about  five  feet  long 
should  be  pushed  into  the  ground,  and  the  variations  in 
length  and  direction  of  the  shadow  of  the  stick  cast  by  the 
sun  observed  regularly.  A  peg  should  be  knocked  into  the 
ground  to  indicate  the  position  of  the  shadow  of  the  top 
of  the  stick,  and  observations  made  of  the  position  of  the 
shadow  at  noon  each  day  for  a  week.  The  constancy  of 
this  position  will  suggest  using  it  for  reference,  and  thus 


298  THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY. 

the  positions  of  the  cardinal  points  can  be  taught.  In 
order  that  these  may  be  well  known,  they  should  either  be 
painted  upon  the  ceilings  of  the  class-rooms,  or  a  weather 
vane,  with  the  N.,  S.,  E.,  and  W.  points  fixed,  should  be 
placed  either  on  the  school  buildings  or  at  the  top  of  a 
flagstaff  in  the  playground. 

Tlie  above  details  are  only  suggestive  of  the  kind  of  work 
which  can  be  done  by  children  at  this  stage ;  they  are  not 
intended  to  be  at  all  exhaustive.  Models  may  easily  be 
made  of  clay  and  sand,  over  which  water  can  be  poured  to 
show  the  effects  of  denudation  and  deposition.  Diagrams 
which,  with  a  word  written  here  and  there,  will  adequately 
summarise  the  matter  taught  should  be  freely  used.  If 
this  work  is  done  thoroughly  during  the  first  and  second 
years  the  pupils  will  secure  at  first  hand  much  valuable 
knowledge  which  will  provide  them  with  ideas  to  give 
fuller  meaning  and  understanding  to  accounts  of  many 
physical  phenomena  in  distant  lands  which  can  only  be 
presented  to  the  imagination  through  description  aided  by 
pictures  and  models. 

The  more  formal  study  of  geography  may  be  said  to 
begin  as  soon  as  a  systematic  attempt  is 
Formal  Study  made  to  represent  the  positions  of  various 
Tf  Maps^^^^  places  on  a  map.  It  is  not  advisable  to  try 
to  do  this  until  sufiicient  knowledge  of  the 
district  has  been  gathered  by  means  of  exciu-sious  to  make 
a  map  of  it  not  only  intelligible  to  the  children,  but  also  a 
means  of  summarising  and  expressing  this  knowledge  in  a 
convenient  form.  This  will  usually  not  be  until  the  second 
year  is  considerably  advanced. 

As  the  drawing  to  scale  of  simple  plans  is  really  a  part 
of  elementary  mathematics,  and  is,  consequently,  treated 
in  the  chapter  on  that  subject,  it  is  unnecessary  to  spend 
time  at  the  l)eginning  of  the  geographical  course  in  doing 


THR    TEA.CHrisr(>    OF    UEOORAPH?.  299 

work  Avliich  has  already  been  done.  It  is  obviously  not 
worth  wliile  to  try  to  deal  with  distance  and  direction  on  a 
large  scale  before  a  knowledge  of  simple  conipntation  and 
of  angles  has  been  obtained  from  the  lessons  in  mathe- 
matics. It  is,  therefore,  desirable  that  the  pupils'  work  iu 
geography  should  be  confined  to  the  study  of  the  simple 
phenomena  around  them  and  to  listening  to  simple  stories 
of  strange  peoples  interestingly  told  until  their  mathe- 
matical knowledge  will  enable  them  to  construct  to  scale 
plans  of  such  familiar  and  simply-formed  places  as  the 
schoolroom  and  playground.  This  kind  of  exercise  should 
lie  practised  in  the  lessons  on  mathematical  drawing  during 
the  second  year,  and  then  an  attempt  can  be  made  to 
represent  on  a  map  the  school  and  its  surroundings,  after- 
wards extending  the  boundaries  to  include  such  things  as 
the  main  roads  and  railways,  chief  buildings,  and  other 
important  landmarks  within  a  radius  of  about  a  mile  from 
the  school. 

In  studying  the  contour  of  a  district  Avith  a  view  to 
preparing  a  model  or  plan  of  it  the  class  should  be  taken 
to  some  hill  conveniently  situated  and  from  that  vantage 
ground  should  examine  the  distances  and  directions  of  the 
principal  landmarks.  The  teacher  should  have  with  him 
a  large  sheet  of  prepared  black  canvas,  which  he  should 
spread  out  on  the  grass,  and  on  which  the  various  physical 
features  and  places  of  interest  should  be  marked.  Round 
this  canvas  the  children  should  be  grouped  so  that  thev  can 
conveniently  be  questioned  as  to  the  names,  distances,  and 
directions  of  the  various  points  to  be  noted.  At  first  they 
can  only  compare  distances  and  heights  very  roughly,  merely 
judging  that  such  a  distance  is  greater  or  less  tlian  another, 
or  such  a  hill  is  higher  or  lower  than  another.  Direction 
should  be  fairly  accurately  determined  by  means  of  the 
mariner's  compass,  on  the  use  of  which  lessons  must  be 


300  THE    TEACHING   OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

given  before  excursions  for  examining  contour  can  profit- 
ably be  begun.  The  teaclier,  by  judicious  questioning,  by 
tactful  criticism  of  answers,  and  by  drawing  careful  atten- 
tion to  suitable  modes  of  comparison,  should  encourage  the 
pupils  to  represent  on  the  sheet  in  a  fairly  accurate  manner 
the  district  in  view,  and  to  indicate  by  suitable  marks  com- 
parative altitudes. 

When  all  is  complete  the  plan  thus  prepared  will  become 
the  subject  of  future  study  in  class,  and  much  additional 
and  interesting  information  about  the  various  places 
marked  on  it  will  be  supplied  by  the  teacher.  The  children, 
moreover,  should  be  encouraged  to  discover  in  their  private 
walks  all  they  can  about  these  places,  and  this  information 
should  be  narrated  by  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  Avhole 
class.  The  map  will  be  examined  with  a  view  to  construct- 
ing from  it  relief  models  of  the  district.  Each  pupil  should 
construct  his  own  model,  and  it  should  then  be  examined 
carefully  by  teacher  and  pupil,  so  that  the  latter  may 
note  and  correct  his  errors.  Finally,  plans  should  be 
drawn  from  the  model,  and  a  second  short  excursion  be 
taken  to  the  same  hill.  The  plans  should  then  be  compared 
with  the  features  seen,  the  errors  noted,  and  additional 
particulars  added. 

For  further  detailed  class-room  study  of  a  district  a 
prepared  model  should  be  brought  before  the  class.  This 
should  have  been  made  accurately  from  a  six-inch  Ordnance 
Survey  map.  The  model  can  be  constructed  by  selecting 
cardboard  whose  thickness  will  repx'esent  the  vertical  dis- 
tance between  two  contour  lines,  and  cutting  pieces  the 
exact  shape  of  each  contour  line.  When  these  have  been 
fixed  one  on  the  top  of  the  other  in  appropriate  positions  as 
shown  by  the  contoiu-  lines  in  the  map  the  whole  structure 
will  represent  in  relief  the  contour  of  the  district.  The 
stepped  appearance  made  by  the  edges  of  the  cai'dboard 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  301 

may  be  removed  by  filing  them  down  or  by  covering  the 
whole  with  a  thin  layer  of  plasticene  or  prepared  clay. 
On  this  model  the  main  roads,  streams,  and  places  of  in- 
terest should  be  marked  in  various  colours.  Such  a  model 
will  be  of  incalculable  service  in  giving  correct  ideas  of 
slope,  relative  distance,  height,  etc.,  and  should  be  referred 
to  constantly  when  any  lesson  on  the  district  is  in  pro- 
gress. 

More  advanced  and  accurate  work  should  be  done  on 
the  action  of  a  stream.  The  fall  in  the  stream  should  be 
roughly  measured  by  means  of  a  spirit  level  and  a  string 
about  twelve  yards  long ;  the  varying  rate  of  flow,  the 
deflection  of  the  main  current  from  one  bank  to  another, 
and  the  eddying  of  the  water  should  be  carefully  noted  by 
spreading  handf  uls  of  bran  or  sawdust  across  the  surface. 
The  actual  rate  of  flow  should  be  estimated  by  stationing 
pupils  at  equal  distances  down  the  stream  and  noting  the 
times  taken  by  the  floating  bran  or  sawdust  to  reach  the 
successive  points.  The  main  current  of  the  stream  should 
be  examined  when  it  strikes  a  hard  rock,  high  bank,  or  tree 
trunk,  and  the  sandbank  formed  on  the  other  side  by  the 
eddy  carefully  noted ;  this  eddying  and  deflection  of  the 
course  may  be  artificially  produced  by  placing  a  large 
boulder  in  the  stream  or  by  damming  half  of  it  by  means 
of  a  board.  The  difference  in  rapidity  of  the  current  in 
narrow  parts  and  in  broad  parts  should  be  observed,  and 
the  result  of  narrowing  it  artificially  should  be  tested  by 
experiment. 

If  there  is  no  convenient  stream  in  the  neighbourhood, 
the  action  of  rivers  must  be  taught  either  by  seizing  the 
opportunity  of  examining  a  gravelly  or  sandy  road  after 
a  heavy  rain  or  by  the  help  of  a  sand-tray.  Indeed  it  is 
advisable  to  supplement  and  organise  all  the  out-door 
work  on  streams  by  means  of  this  latter  contrivance.    The 


302  THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGKAPHY. 

sand-tray  should  be  at  least  four  feet  square,  made  of  tin 
or  zinc  so  as  to  hold  water,  and  with  a  rim  not  less  than 
three  or  four  inches  deep.  Large  supplies  of  fine  and 
coarse  sand  and  fine  and  coarse  gravel  are  required. 
Almost  all  the  effects  of  river  action  can  be  illustrated 
with  such  a  tray  if  water  be  sprinkled  by  means  of  a  very 
tine  rose  on  a  model  of  sand  and  gravel.  A  model  of  a 
river  basin  should  be  constructed,  and  hard  and  soft  strata 
should  be  represented  by  sand  and  gravel.  The  water  as 
it  flows  down  the  slopes  of  the  sand  will  wear  out  a  bed ; 
tributaries  Avill  join  to  form  a  main  stream ;  waterfalls, 
cataracts  and  rapids  will  be  formed  over  hard  strata,  and 
smooth  flowing  rivers  over  softer  material.  Pebbles  may 
be  placed  at  various  points  in  the  main  bed  of  the  stream, 
and  the  Avinding  of  rivers  and  the  formation  of  islands 
will  be  exemplified.  Finally,  the  growth  of  sandbanks  and 
a  delta  will  be  shown  at  the  point  where  the  stream  enters 
the  water  at  the  bottom  of  the  tray. 

As  has  been  said,  the  study  of  the  district  will  con- 
tinue after  the  second  year,  and  will  become 
Study  ^^  more  and  more  advanced  in  character.     Spe- 

cimens of  rocks,  fossils  and  strata  as  seen 
in  quarries,  gravel  pits,  exposed  hill-sides,  and  road  or 
railway  cuttings  should  be  examined.  The  pupils  should 
be  practised  in  judging  distances  and  heights  with  ap- 
proximate accuracy  by  comparing  them  with  well  known 
distances  or  by  pacing.  A  convenient  standard  of  com- 
parison is  the  distance  between  two  successive  telegraph 
posts.  Distance  may  also  be  judged  by  means  of  the 
following  device.  If  a  long  pencil  be  held  upright  at  the 
length  of  the  arm  the  apparent  heights  of  various  objects 
within  range  can  be  compared  by  moving  the  thumb  up  or 
down  the  pencil.  If  certain  definite  heights,  such  as  that 
of  a  telegraph  post,  be  compared  in  this  way  for  various 


THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY.  303 

known  distances  certain  data  will  be  obtained  from  which 
a  rough  estimate  of  distance  can  be  inferred. 

In  the  seventh  year  the  definite  and  accurate  surveying 
of  a  small  area  can  be  carried  out ;  and  direction,  distance 
and  height  accurately  measured.  The  Ordnance  Survey 
map  of  this  district  can  then  be  studied,  and  the  pupils 
made  familiar  with  the  representation  of  altitudes  by  con- 
tour-lines. 

The  meaning  and  use  of  contours  may  be  taught  in 
the  following  manner.  A  watertight  tray  is  required  and 
a  supply  of  plasticene.  It  would  be  well  if  each  pupil 
could  have  a  tray  for  himself— an  ordinary  tin  dish  about 
2'  deep  would  serve  admirably.  A  model  of  a  hill,  prefer- 
ably a  hill  in  tlie  neighbourhood,  should  then  be  made.  The 
sugar-loaf  pattern  should  be  avoided ;  a  slope  of  30°  from 
the  vertical  would  be  precipitous  in  a  real  hill.  The  avoid- 
ance of  exaggeration  in  vertical  relief  is  one  of  the  most 
important  lessons  a  student  of  geography  can  learn.  The 
tendency  to  such  exaggeration  is  encouraged  by  the  fact 
that  generally  when  a  section  across  a  country,  continent, 
or  ocean  basin  is  published  the  vertical  scale  is  ten,  twenty,' 
or  even  a  hundred  times  the  horizontal.  Quite  commonly 
the  real  slope  of  the  land  is  so  slight,  even  in  crossing  so- 
called  mountains  and  hills,  that  without  considerable 
exaggeration  of  the  vertical  scale  the  elevations  would 
scarcely  be  noticeable  on  a  sectional  drawing. 

The  hill  having  been  modelled  so  that  the  top  does 
not  appear  higher  than  the  sides  of  the  tray,  place  the  tray 
level  and  pour  in  water  to  a  depth  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch. 
Measure  the  depth  of  the  water  by  holding  a  ruler  vertically, 
with  one  end  resting  on  the  bottom  of  the  tray.  Notice 
A\here  the  water  surface  cuts  the  hill  and  scratch  on  the 
hillside  with  a  needle  along  the  junction  line ;  pour  in  water 
up  to  half  an  inch  in  depth  and  make  another  scratch  round 


304  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRiVPHy. 

the  hill ;  then  up  to  thi-ee-quarters  of  au  inch  and  so  on. 
If  a  quarter  of  an  inch  be  allowed  to  represent  one  hundred 
feet,  the  hill  will  be  marked  with  a  series  of  lines  each  of 
which  represents  an  altitude  of  one  hundred  feet  above 
the  line  next  below. 

Now  pour  off  the  water  and  sketch  roughly  a  plan  of 
the  contour  lines ;  they  will  be  represented  by  a  series  of 
rude  rings,  the  smallest  near  the  top  of  the  hill  and  the 
others  successively  enclosing  each  other.  Next  cut  verti- 
cally through  the  model  of  the  hill  with  a  sharp  knife  and 
observe  the  section  after  removing  half  the  hill.  Represent 
the  section  line  on  the  contoured  plan.  Then,  l)y  taking 
distances  along  the  line  of  section,  raising  perpendiculars 
where  the  section  line  cuts  each  contour  line,  making  the 
perpendiculars  a  quarter  of  an  inch  above  the  base  line  for 
every  hundred  feet  and  joining  the  points  so  obtained,  a 
curve  will  be  obtained  which  will  be  of  the  same  shape  as 
the  cut  surface  of  the  model.  This  may  be  proved  by 
cutting  the  paper  section  along  the  curve  and  fitting  it  to 
the  model. 

This  process  may  be  repeated  with  more  complex  models 
of  plateaux,  valleys,  and  detached  hills ;  the  pupils  in 
every  case  di'awing  a  plan  of  the  model  and  contour  lines, 
making  a  section  of  the  model  and  a  corresponding 
section  from  the  plan,  and  fitting  the  two  together.  They 
should  then  be  able  to  draw  sections  to  scale  across  any 
district  of  which  the  contoured  plan  is  given — the  teacher 
being  careful  not  to  present  too  many  difficulties  at 
once. 

The  next  step  would  be  to  model  a  simple  district  when 
its  contour  lines  are  given,  by  drawing  sections  in  various 
directions  and  making  a  model.  The  result  should  then 
be  proved  by  filling  the  tray  with  water,  scratching  a  con- 
tour line  on  the  model  at  each  level  and  comparing  with 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOQRAPHT.  305 

the  original  plan.  It  is  a  very  interesting  experiment  at 
this  stage  to  give  the  pupils  a  contoured  plan  of  the  school 
district,  which  can  easily  be  ol^tained  from  the  maps  of  the 
Ordnance  SuiTev  on  the  scale  of  six  inches  to  one  mile,  and 
without  givino:  anv  names  allow  them  to  draw  sections 
across  it  and  prepare  a  plasticene  model.  Then  see  how 
many  of  them  can  recognise  the  district  from  the  model. 
Of  course,  this  can  not  be  done  if  the  district  is  at  all  com- 
plex in  its  contour. 

The  contoured  Ordnance  Survey  maps  of  the  district 
and  Bartholomew's  maps,  with  coloured  contours,  on  the 
scale  of  two  miles  to  the  inch  for  larger  areas,  might  now  be 
used  for  exercises  in  drawing  sections  until  the  pupils  are 
able  to  interpret  a  contoured  map  with  a  fair  degree  of  ease 
— reading  at  a  glance  steep  slopes  where  the  contours  are 
close  together;  gentle  slopes  where  they  are  separated 
considerably  ;  hills  where  they  are  concentric  rings  ;  and 
valleys  where  they  are  Y-shaped ;  and  finding  explanations 
of  the  directions  taken  by  roads  and  railways  in  the 
relative  positions  of  the  contour  lines. 

In  spite  of  their  difficulty  a  few  sections  of  the  school 
district  to  true  scale  may  be  attempted  by  the  most  ad- 
vanced pupils  ;  and  the  teacher  would  do  well  to  prepare  a 
few  very  carefully  drawn  sections  of  the  school  district  to 
true  scale  to  hang  on  the  walls  for  them  to  see  at  any 
time.  This  should  be  done  after  they  have  ceased  to  make 
sections  themselves  of  the  same  district. 

It  must  not,  however,  he  forgotten  in  the  detail  with 
S  ■  1  A  t  "^liich  the  physical  aspect  of  the  district  has 
been  considered  that  the  human  aspect  is  of 
at  least  equal  importance.  On  this  side  of  the  instruction 
the  social,  industrial,  and  commercial  relations  of  the 
people  of  the  district  should  be  examined  and  made 
definite  and  clear.  In  this  elementary  sociological  study 
PR.  TG.  20 


"306  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

the  notions  of  the  dependence  of  each  person  on  his 
fellows  and  of  the  manifestations  of  a  corporate  life  in 
which  common  purposes  are  pursued  for  the  common 
good  will  begin  to  take  definite  shape  and  form. 

As  has  been  already  mentioned,  village  life  presents  a 
less  complex  human  problem  than  the  life  of  a  large  in- 
dustrial centre.  The  squire,  the  clergyman,  the  school- 
master, the  farmers  and  their  labourers,  the  village 
shopkeeper,  the  blacksmith,  the  joiner,  the  bootmaker — 
each  is  dependent  on  each  for  some  kind  of  service. 

From  the  interdependence  of  the  elements  of  the  village 
community  the  pupils  should  pass  to  the  dependence  of  the 
village  on  the  nearest  market  town.  Village  produce  goes 
to  the  town ;  town  productions  come  in  exchange  into 
the  village.  The  fortunes  of  each  should  be  traced.  The 
farmer  and  his  laboiu-ers  grow  the  corn,  and  rear  sheep 
and  cattle.  These  are  sold  at  the  market  town.  The 
miller,  the  butcher,  the  tanner,  the  glue-maker  follow. 
Finally  the  goods  are  traced  into  the  hands  of  the  con- 
sumer, and  in  some  part  perhaps  find  their  way  back 
again  to  the  village  as  flour,  meat,  shoes,  and  woollen 
clothes.  Similarly,  the  fortunes  of  the  tea,  coffee,  knives, 
cotton  and  linen  goods,  and  other  articles  of  the  household 
economy  that  are  brought  into  the  village  from  without 
should  be  traced.  Here  is  plenty  of  material  upon  which 
the  imagination  may  be  exercised.  Clear,  graphic,  full 
and  detailed  descriptions  should  be  given  so  that  the  pupils 
form  living  and  realistic  images  of  the  various  kinds  of 
work  in  which  so  many  people  are  engaged  and  through 
which  the  raw  produce  of  the  village  and  of  foreign  chmes 
is  transformed  into  articles  of  every-day  use.  Pictures, 
sketches,  and,  where  possible,  specimens  of  products  in 
successive  stages  of  manufacture  should  be  freely  used. 

The  interchange  of  goods  between  town  and  village  leads 


THE    TEACHINa    OP    GEOGRAPHT.  307 

naturally  to  the  consideration  of  the  means  of  couiniumca- 
tion,  such  as  roads,  railways,  and  canals,  and  of  the  means 
of  interchange,  such  as  carriers,  markets  and  shops. 
From  these  the  pupils  can  proceed  to  realise  in  imagination 
the  more  complex  life  of  the  market  town. 

In  studying  many  of  the  commercial  relations  sketched 
above,  attention  will  be  drawn  to  objects  and  work  of 
a  public  character.  The  roads,  their  making  and  keeping 
in  repair,  the  postal  service  for  the  delivery  of  letters,  the 
village  constable,  reading  room  and  library,  the  parish 
coimcils,  ai'e  all  signs  of  a  community  hfe.  The  relations 
of  these  to  each  individual  should  be  made  clear,  and  such 
notions  should  year  by  year  become  more  definite  and 
exact  and  should  receive  enlargement  as  the  pupils  pass 
from  the  consideration  of  their  own  district  to  the  study 
of  their  own  and  other  nations. 

Such  a  treatment  of  village  life  indicates  the  lines  on 
which  the  teaching  of  the  more  complex  life  of  a  town 
should  develop.  In  a  town  commercial  and  social  activities 
exist  in  such  abundance  and  are  so  inter-related  that  the 
child  is  at  first  overwhelmed  with  confusion  in  an  attempt 
to  unravel  them.  The  chief  characteristics,  however, 
should  be  emphasised,  especially  those  which  are  brought 
strikingly  under  his  daily  notice,  and  those  which  have 
plain  concrete  embodiment  in  some  building  or  object 
that  can  be  examined.  The  life  in  factoiy,  mill,  warehouse, 
office,  and  shop,  and  the  characteristic  occupations  of  the 
people  should  receive  attention.  The  life-history  of  cotton, 
wool,  flax,  iron,  or  whatever  be  the  staple  raw  material 
used  in  the  local  industries  should  be  traced,  and  various 
stages  in  the  manufacture  of  the  final  product  shown  by 
means  of  specimens.  The  chief  roads,  with  their  tram- 
ways or  'buses,  the  railways,  canals  or  river  as  means  of 
communication  between  the  parts  of  the  town  or  between 


308  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY. 

town  and  town  should  be  dealt  with;  and  the  town- 
hall,  nivmicipal  buildings,  law  courts,  public  library  and 
reading  room,  recreation  grounds  and  parks,  tramways, 
churches  and  schools  shoixld  receive  attention  as  evidences 
of  corporate  life.  The  whole  teaching  will  refer  con- 
tinually to  the  pupil's  daily  experience,  wliich  should  be 
enlarged  by  suitable  excursions  and  by  graphic  descrip- 
tions and  pictures.  This,  as  the  work'  progresses,  should 
find  an  expression  in  a  map  made  by  each  pupil,  which 
will  serve  as  a  partial  summaiy  of  his  knowledge  of  ihe 
district. 

5.  The  district  having  been  studied  on  its  physical  and 

human  aspects,  the  next  stage  in  the  teaching 
A  more  ig  to  examine  a  larger  area,   so  that  more 

Axea^^^  ^  diverse  physical  and  social  conditions  may 

be  brought  before  the  pupils.  This  can 
usually  be  begun  with  the  third  year.  Fortunate  is 
the  teacher  whose  school  lies  in  a  geographical  area 
having  types  of  many  different  physical  features  and 
various  human  circumstances.  The  county  of  Yorkshire  is 
such  an  area,  containing,  as  it  does,  a  broad  alluvial 
plain  with  its  winding  river  ending  in  a  deep  and  wide 
estuary  ;  mountainous  and  moorland  districts  with  narrow 
river  valleys  in  both  the  west  and  the  north-east ;  a  varied 
coast  line  giving  examples  of  bold  headland  and  shingly 
cape,  river  harbour  and  sea  harbour;  types  of  pasture 
land  with  a  population  scattered  in  isolated  hamlets,  of 
arable  land  with  numerous  villages,  and  of  an  industrial 
area  on  a  coal  and  iron  field,  the  population  of  which  is 
largely  engaged  in  the  manufactiu-e  of  woollen  and  iron 
goods;  while  its  county  town  of  York  is  an  excellent 
medium  for  introducing  to  the  pupils  the  more  striking 
and  simple  features  of  an  old  world  city  with  its  walls, 
cathedral,  abbey,  and  guildhall. 


THE  TEAOHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  309 

Each  part  of  such  au  area  should  be  examined  iu  suffi- 
cient detail  to  give  a  fvill,  clear,  and  vivid  picture  of  the 
chief  kinds  of  physical  features,  and  the  occupations  and 
varying  circumstances  of  life  of  the  people  in  industrial 
centre,  agricultural  village,  isolated  hamlet,  sea  port,  and 
fishing  town.  No  attempt  should  be  made  to  present 
ideas  of  these  by  means  of  abstract  definitions.  Defini- 
tion, as  has  been  frequently  stated,  is  of  gradual  growth, 
and  shovild  be  the  end  and  not  the  beginning  of  knowledge. 
Definitions  have  all  the  more  meaning  if  arrived  at  tlu'ough 
a  wealth  of  varied  particulars.'^  Hence  the  parts  of  this 
area  should  be  pi-esented  by  means  of  all  kinds  of  devices 
— pictures,  sketches,  models,  description,  stories,  lessons  on 
the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  products  mentioned — • 
in  a  wealth  of  graphic  detail,  so  that  the  children  will, 
in  imagination,  really  live  in  the  places  described  and 
enter  with  full  sympathy  into  the  difficulties,  hardships, 
dangers,  and  work  of  those  who,  in  this  way  and  that,  toil 
on  the  sea,  or  labour  in  mine  or  noisy  factory  to  supply 
their  numerous  wants. 

Only  the  chief  and  most  interesting  characteristics  of 
each  district  in  the  area  will  be  described.  Thus,  in 
dealing  with  w^estern  Yorkshire,  the  bleak  mountainous 
uplands  of  the  Pennines,  the  scattered  hamlets  of  the 
shepherds  in  charge  of  the  mountain  sheep,  the  beauty  of 
the  river  valleys  with  their  waterfalls  and  Avoody  slopes, 
and  often  with  the  lonely  and  sheltered  abbey  sleeping  by 
the  banks,  and  the  warden  castle  guarding  the  entrance,  will 
be  the  main  human  interest ;  while  the  action  of  water  on 
hard  and  soft  rocks,  the  formation  of  waterfalls,  the  winding 
of  the  stream,  the  flooding  by  heavy  rainfall,  the  carrying 
of  material  by  the  river,  either  in  solution  or  suspension, 
will  be  the  chief  physical  topics  of  interest. 

'  See  Weltoii,  The  Logical  Bases  of  Educatton,  pp.  2'21-9. 


310  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY. 

In  passing  to  the  coast  no  better  stai'ting-point  can  be 
found  than  Scarborough.  Here  will  be  found  lines  of 
hills  projecting  into  the  sea  as  headlands,  and  bays 
corresponding  to  the  valleys.  The  action  of  the  waves 
on  hard  and  soft  rocks,  and  the  formation  of  shingle 
and  sand,  can  he  considered.  Of  human  interest  the 
fishing  town  with  its  harbour  sheltered  from  the  north- 
easterly gales,  the  life  on  a  deep-sea  fishing  fleet  with  its 
hardships  and  dangers,  the  life-l)oat  and  rocket- station, 
the  ruins  of  the  mediaeval  castle  on  the  scar  at  the  foot  of 
Avhich  the  town  grew  in  size  and  importance,  the  spa, 
promenade,  gardens,  and  sea  drive,  which  evidence  the 
fashionalde  health  resort,  will  all  be  presented  in  picture 
and  description. 

Passing  down  the  coast,  contrasts  rapidly  present  them- 
selves. The  precipitous  limestone  cliffs  of  Flamborough 
can  be  compared  with  the  softer  earth  and  clay  cliif s  to 
the  north  and  with  the  low  foreshoi-e  to  the  south  which 
ends  in  the  long,  low,  shingly  point  of  Spm-n.  The  light- 
houses at  Flamborough  and  >Spurn  will  suggest  other 
dangers  of  the  sea.  The  Humber  offers  a  different  scene 
— a  busy  river  port  for  emigrants,  trade,  and  fishing ;  and 
the  advantages  of  a  river  over  a  sea  harbour  can  be  well 
illustrated  by  contrasting  Hull  with  Scarborough.  The 
deposition  of  suspended  matter  at  the  mouths  of  rivers 
and  the  formation  of  sandbanks  here  find  exemplification, 
and  the  use  of  buoys  and  dredgers  will  be  noted. 
.  In  a  similar  detailed  manner  the  main  characteristics  of 
the  agricultural  area  of  the  plain  and  of  the  industrial 
area  on  the  coal  and  iron  fields  will  be  treated,  and  the 
whole  will  be  summarised  and  brought  into  a  connected 
system  by  lessons  on  the  road,  rail,  and  canal  communi- 
cations lietween  part  and  part,  and  on  the  exchange  of 
ixoods    between    district    and     district.       In    a    general 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  311 

way  work  of  a  public  nature  will  Ije  illustrated  by  the 
keeping  up  of  main  roads,  the  maintenance  of  the  coast- 
guards and  lighthouses  round  our  coasts,  and  the  pro. 
vision  of  the  means  of  education  from  village  school  to 
university. 

Throughout  the  study  of  the  whole  area,  such  simple 
stories  of  historical  events  as  appeal  to  pupils  of  this  age 
should  be  told  in  connection  with  places  or  districts  that 
are  Ijeiug  described.  We  have  already  mentioned  the  im- 
portance of  treating  York  as  a  type  of  an  old  world  town, 
and  in  this  connection  tales  of  the  incursions  of  the  Danes, 
the  conquest  by  William  the  ISTorman,  the  great  siege  of 
York  during  the  Civil  War,  and  the  battle  of  Marston 
Moor  may  fittingly  be  narrated. 

A  good  model  is  needed  throughout  the  whole  of  this 
study,  and  an  outline  sketch  map  should  be  used  side  by 
side  with  it  and  filled  in  point  by  point  as  the  teaching 
progresses,  the  different  kinds  of  features  being  marked 
by  various  coloured  chalks.  The  pupils  should  also  sketch 
maps  and  fill  them  in  as  the  teacher's  map  is  compiled. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  compare,  Avith  regard  to  size  and 
position,  remote  places  with  those  already  studied.  To 
make  sure  that  the  new  scale  is  grasped  the  school  district 
formerly  examined  should  be  outlined  in  red  on  the  map  of 
the  larger  area.  A  scale  of  miles  should  be  constructed  on 
each  map  and  the  pupils  should  have  frequent  practice 
in  calculating  from  measurement  the  distance  from  place 
to  place,  and  in  realising  this  distance  clearly  by  judging 
how  long  it  would  take  to  walk  it  or  to  go  by  train. 

Several  maps  should  be  sketched  by  the  pupils  so  that 
they  may  become  thoroughly  familiar  Avith  the  outline  and 
main  features.  These  maps  may  be  most  fruitfully  used 
by  marking  the  chief  physical  features  and  chief  towns  in 
each  and  then  putting  the  names  of  manufacturing  districts 


312  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

iu  cue  sketch,  roads,  railways,  and  canals  in  another,  mining 
and  agricultural  areas  in  a  third,  and  so  on.  In  this  way 
the  sketch  maps  serve  as  a  convenient  summary  for  a  large 
amount  of  geographical  knowledge,  and  will  gradually 
mean  more  and  more  to  the  pupils,  who  as  time  goes  on 
will  gain  the  power  of  so  interpreting  a  map  as  to  gain 
from  it  much  knowledge  concerning  the  physical  aspects 
of  the  country  and  the  conditions  of  the  people. 

The  extension  from  the  school  district  to  a  larger,  but 
ueio'hbouring,  geographical  area  is  not  always  advisable. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  larger  area  must  be  a 
geographical  unit  and  not  an  artificial  county  area,  and 
it  miist  provide  very  varied  material  for  study.  Expan- 
sion from  a  midland  town  to  a  midland  county  may 
bring  very  few  new  features  into  the  study,  and  then  it 
would  only  lead  to  the  verbal  memorising  of  a  number  of 
names  of  places  in  the  county.  Where  suitable  enlarge- 
ment is  impossible  it  is  better  to  pass  direct  from  the 
school  district  to  the  consideration  of  the  whole  country, 
treating  one  geographical  area,  such  as  the  Pennine  slopes 
or  the  south-west  peninsula  of  Somerset,  Dorset,  Cornwall, 
and  Devon,  in  considerable  detail  in  a  manner  analogous  to 
that  already  indicated  in  dealing  with  Yorkshire. 

6.  The  remainder  of  the  third  and  fourth  years  should 

be  occupied  in  the  study  of  the  British  Isles. 
The  British       j^  jg  customary  to  teach  the  three  kingdoms 

separately,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  reason 
for  this  except  tradition,  while  there  are  very  many  reasons, 
some  of  them  overwhelming  in  force,  for  considering  them 
as  a  whole.  Many  geographical  areas  in  the  three  king- 
doms are  similar.  The  southern  district  of  Scotland  is,  in 
physical  features  and  in  industries,  very  like  the  north  of 
England.  The  Lake  district,  North  Wales,  the  southern 
Highlands,  the  Killarney  country  and  Connemara  present 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGKAPHY.  313 

Tuauy  features  iu  common,  and  in  teaching  sliould  be 
classed  as  similar  areas  and  taught  in  succession,  so  that  a 
detailed  description  of  one  may  stand  in  many  particulars 
as  a  type  of  the  others.  The  main  justification,  however,  for 
teaching  the  three  kingdoms  as  a  unit  lies  in  their  commer- 
cial and  political  relations.  If  we  would  f  orna  a  rational  con- 
ception of  British  industrial  areas  and  commercial  centres 
the  Clyde  valley  and  Ulster  must  be  included,  and  such  ports 
as  Glasgow  and  Belfast  treated  as  integral  parts  of  our 
commei'cial  system.  In  considering  the  lines  of  communi- 
cation it  is  the  height  of  absurdity  to  stop  short  at  Carlisle 
and  Berwick  on  the  northern  routes,  at  Liverpool,  Holyhead, 
Heysham,  Fishguard,  and  ISTew  Milford  on  the  western,  be- 
cause these  places  happen  to  be  on  the  boundaries  of  Eng- 
land, and  not  to  proceed  straight  on  to  Glasgow,  Edinburgh, 
and  Aberdeen,  or  to  Belfast,  Dublin,  Cork,  and  Queens- 
town,  which  are  equally  parts  of  the  routes,  although  they 
have  not  the  privilege  of  being  within  the  English  borders. 
It  is  a  common  plan  in  text-books  to  begin  the  chapter 
on  the  British  Isles  with  lists  of  mountains 

Connections  be-  and  hills,  rivers,  capes,  bays,  seaports,  and 
tween  various     -ix-i  j.  jai-"^        i  e  j.      • 

Aspects  of  a       mdustnai  centres,  and  this  order  or  topics 

District.  and  mode  of  treatment  have  become  some- 

what traditional  in  the  teaching  of  geo- 
graphy. It  is  not  unusual  for  a  pupil  in  his  third  year  to 
start  with  Flamborough  Head,  and  recite  by  heart  the  capes 
in  their  order  of  occurrence,  imtil  St.  Bees  Head  marks  the 
completion  of  the  weary  round.  Whatever  may  be  con- 
venient in  a  text-book,  such  an  order  and  mode  of  treat- 
ment is  utterly  unsuited  to  any  teaching  which  aspires  to 
something  more  rational  than  the  exercise  of  verbal  memory 
as  the  form  of  learning.  Such  modes  of  teaching  are  ir- 
rational, unnatural,  and  powerless  either  to  satisfy  intel- 
lectual curiosity  or  to  awaken  human  interest.     We  have 


314  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

already  insisted  that  the  child's  aesthetic  and  social 
nature  should  be  provided  with  food  on  which  it  may- 
be nourished  and  matured.  Such  food  does  not  consist 
in  names  of  places  or  towns,  or  in  Hsts  of  industries, 
populations,  and  occuj^ations,  but  in  presentations  of  scenes 
of  beauty  and  grandeur,  and  in  pictures  of  the  difficulties 
and  dangers,  hardships  and  trials,  work  and  conditions  of 
life  of  all  those  people  in  our  laud  who,  in  some  way  or 
other,  contribute  to  the  needs  of  each  of  us,  and  who  by 
common  interests  and  purposes  and  aspirations  are  united 
with  us  in  the  bond  of  nationality.  Intellectual  curiosity 
can  but  shrivel  and  die  if  fed  on  such  food  as  names  of  capes 
and  bays  and  mountains.  The  things  themselves  must  be 
made  to  live,  and  the  rational  relations  between  thing  and 
thing  must  unite  all  into  a  connected  system. 

Mountain  systems,  river  systems,  and  coastal  features 
hold  definite  relations  to  each  other.  The  character  of  the 
headlands  is  influenced  by  the  land  contour,  which  also 
determines  the  direction,  rapidity,  length,  and  general 
nature  of  the  rivers.  The  lie  of  the  mountains  and  valleys, 
whether  parallel  to  the  coast  or  abutting  on  it,  decides  the 
formation  of  the  inlets  and  capes.  The  kind  of  rocks, 
whether  soft  or  hard,  affects  the  character  of  the  coast 
line,  determines  the  depth  and  rapidity  of  the  rivers  and 
the  nature  of  their  beds,  and  the  goodness,  poorness,  and 
amount  of  soil ;  and  all  these  are  factors  in  the  conditions 
under  which  the  people  of  the  district  live.  For  example, 
in  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Pemiines,  the  rolling  nature  of 
the  country  in  Northumberland  and  Durham  give  an  un- 
even coast  line,  and  no  hills  prevent  the  direct  flow  of  the 
Tyne,  Wear,  and  Tees  to  the  sea.  In  the  Yorkshire  area, 
ridges  of  the  North  York  Moors  and  Yorksliire  Wolds 
project  as  headlands,  and  these  hills,  with  the  Lincoln- 
shire Wolds,  prevent  the  direct  access  to  the  sea  of  the 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOURAPHY.  315 

tributaries  of  the  Ouse  aud  of  the  Trent,  which,  combiuiuj;, 
break  through  a  gap  in  the  wolds  and  form  the  Humber. 
The  low  fore-shore  and  the  comparatively  soft  clav  aud 
earth  rocks  of  the  eastern  coast,  when  acted  on  by  the  sea, 
present  a  more  or  less  even  coast  line,  unfavourable 
for  good  sea  harbours.  The  long  eastern  slope  of  the 
Pennine  and  the  extensive  basins  of  the  Ouse  and  Trent 
originate  deep  and  slow  rivers,  that  give  a  natural  access 
far  into  the  heart  of  Yorkshire  and  Nottingham,  and  allow 
them  Avhen  combined  to  flow  to  the  sea  as  a  deep  and  wide 
estuary  which  provides  an  excellent  port,  accessible  at  every 
state  of  the  tide. 

When  taught  in  their  relation  to  each  other  such  features 
of  the  country  appeal  to  the  pupils'  curiosity  and  desire  for 
explanation.  Each  feature  finds  its  place  in  a  connected 
and  rational  system  which  coheres  in  the  mind  as  a 
Avhole.  Instead,  therefore,  of  mere  verbal  memory  being 
required,  an  organised  and  rational  system  of  knowledge 
mvist  be  intelUgently  constructed,  No  doubt,  names  must 
be  learnt,  and  facts  must  be  memorised.  There  must  be 
repetition  and  revision.  But  monotony  should  be  avoided. 
Fresh  interest  and  keen  attention  should  be  secured  each 
time  by  approaching  the  old  problem  from  a  new  point  of 
view,  and  by  bringing  some  fresh  form  of  activity  into  play. 

The  rational  connection  between  mountains,  rivers,  coast 

features,  and  conditions  of  life  of  the  jjeople 

Separate  Study  suggests    that,    in   the    detailed    studv,    the 

of  Geograpm-      -r,-7--,Ti         t       t,  ■,  " 

cal  Areas.  british  Isles   should   not    be  considered   as 

a  whole,  but  as  a  collection  of  definite  geo- 
graphical areas.  These  connections  can  then  lie  made 
thoroughly  apparent.  Conseqviently  the  first  step  in  the 
teaching  will  be  to  mark  out  clearly  the  main  geographical 
areas  by  an  analysis  of  the  build  of  the  British  Isles  as 
represented  in  a  good  aud  large  model. 


316  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

Sucli  areas  will  be  : — The  Eastern  slope  of  the  Peuiiiues  ; 
the  Western  slope  of  the  Pennines  ;  the  Lake  District ;  East 
Anglia  ;  the  Thames  valley  ;  the  Weald,  with  the  North  and 
South  Downs ;  the  South-west  Peninsula  of  Somerset, 
Dorset,  Devon,  and  Cornwall ;  Wales  ;  the  valley  of  the 
Severn ;  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland ;  the  Southern  High- 
lands ;  the  Northern  Highlands  ;  the  basin  of  the  Shannon ; 
the  South-east  corner  of  Ireland ;  the  North-east  corner 
of  Ireland;  the  Western  hills  of  Donegal,  Clalway,  and 
Mayo ;  and  the  South-west  corner,  including  Kerry,  Cork, 
Limerick,  and  Waterford. 

The  main  characteristics  of  these  areas  having  been 
noted  and  compared,  the  teaching  should  pass  on  to  de- 
velop each  in  detail.  The  order  in  which  they  are  taught 
should  be  decided  by  such  considerations  as  the  situa- 
tion of  the  school,  which  district  will  give  the  greatest 
variety  of  material  for  initial  detailed  study,  and  which 
is  best  known  to  the  teacher  from  personal  acquaintance. 
Districts  similar  in  character  should  be  studied  in  close 
succession,  so  that  descriptions  of  one  will  be  in  some 
measure  typical  of  the  others,  and  so  that  the  various  parts 
of  our  islands  will  be  linked  together  by  associations  of 
similarity  and  contrast. 

The  physical  aspect  of  the  area  should  first  be  grasped 
and  should  be  accurately  represented  by  a  large  plasticene 
model  placed  on  one  half  of  a  large  board,  the  remaining 
half  being  used  for  a  sketch  map  of  the  same  size,  to 
be  filled  in  as  the  teaching  progresses.  As  has  been 
already  indicated,  care  should  be  taken  to  emphasise 
the  relations  between  land  contoiu-,  rivers,  and  coast  line 
Next  should  follow  the  climate,  vegetable  and  mineral 
productions,  loading  on  to  the  occupations  and  lives  of  the 
people  and  the  chief  centres  of  population. 

As  a  jjreliminary  to  the  consideration  of  climate  there 


THK  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  317 

should  be  some  direct  observation  of  the  weather  of  the 
district  iu  wliich  the  school  is  situated.  Such  observations 
should  extend  over  many  mouths,  aud  now  aud  again 
should  receive  systematisation  by  a  lesson  on  the  subject. 
Dii-ection  of  wind,  temperature,  clouds,  and  rainfall  are 
the  chief  things  to  be  noticed.  Which  are  the  prevailing 
Avinds,  which  are  cold,  Avliich  warm,  which  bring  rain,  and 
which  are  dry,  which  are  the  wet  months  and  which  the 
dry,  wliat  is  the  time  for  mists  and  fogs,  should  all  be 
noted.  Such  observations  form  a  good  nucleus  from  which 
to  expand  the  pupil's  notion  of  climate. 

Very  little  explanation  of  cHmatic  conditions  can  be 
given  at  this  stage,  though  the  effects  of  mountains  and 
of  winds  can  be  appreciated.  The  influence  of  winds  blow- 
ing from  warm  and  large  oceanic  areas  should  receive 
special  attention,  and  should  be  made  intelUgible  by  a  few 
lessons  on  evaporation  and  condensation.  But  the  pupils 
mainly  need  to  acquire  a  large  number  of  particular 
ideas  concerning  tlie  differing  climates  in  the  South  and 
the  North  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  These  ideas 
should  be  made  living  by  as  many  and  as  varied  illustra- 
tions as  possible — by  reference  to  the  kind  of  vegetation, 
the  difference  of  the  seasons  of  the  year  at  different  places, 
the  migrations  of  birds,  the  positions  of  health  resorts,  aud 
any  other  interesting  details  which  will  make  real  the 
natiire  of  the  climate  and  its  influence  on  the  habits  of  the 
people.  Thus  will  be  laid  a  ground-work  of  particular 
experiences  from  which,  by  comparison  aud  contrast,  the 
climates  of  foreign  countries  can  afterwards  be  realised 
more  effectively,  and  from  which  at  a  still  later  stage 
fundamental  conceptions  of  the  causes  and  effects  of 
climate  can  be  inferred. 

As  the  pupils  advance  in  intellectual  grasp  much  more 
can    be    attempted    in    bringing  out  the   ways   iu   which 


318  THE    TEACHINCI    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

physical  conditions  influence  vegetation  and  the  occupa- 
tions of  the  people.  They  will  readily  appreciate  how  the 
warmth  and  moisture  of  prevailing  Avinds  make  for  luxu- 
riant vegetation  when  soil  conditions  are  favourable,  and 
how  the  presence  of  coal  and  iron  beds  or  the  existence  of 
a  large  and  deep  estuary  in  a  great  measure  determines 
the  occupations  of  the  people.  They  should  then  pass  on 
to  consider,  in  a  simple  and  elementary  manner,  how  the 
kinds  of  rock  characteristic  of  a  district  determine  the 
natiu-e  of  that  district.  Chalk  hills,  soft  sandstone,  hai'd 
grauite,  and  alluvial  soil  have  each  characteristic  land 
contours  and  vegetation. 

The  bare  crags  of  the  Cumbrian  heights,  with  their 
scanty  vegetation,  the  rolling  grass  hills  of  the  Downs,  the 
heather  moors  of  the  Yorkshire  Penniues,  and  the  grassy 
moors  of  the  Peak  district  are  explained  by  the  nature  of 
the  rock  in  each  area.  The  relation  between  them  can 
readily  be  shown  to  pupils  of  this  age,  if  such  well-known 
rocks  as  granite,  chalk,  limestone,  clay,  and  sandstone  be 
examined.  From  their  structure  much  can  be  inferred 
with  respect  to  the  effects  of  rain  and  frost  in  wearing 
them  away  and  so  forming  suitable  soil  for  the  growth  of 
plants.  These  elementary  ideas  in  geology  will  receive 
considerable  extension  when  in  later  years  the  pupils  begin 
the  study  of  Europe  and  of  the  world.  Yolcanoes,  volcanic 
rocks,  the  formation  of  aqueous  rocks  and  mountain  chains, 
and  the  denudation  of  the  earth's  siu-face  will  then  be 
treated,  and  certain  geological  principles  will  be  enunciated 
that  "will  give  interest  and  unity  to  many  geographical 
facts. 

The  social  aspect  of  the  area  having  been  examined,  there 
remains  what  may  be  called  the  historic  aspect.  Much 
of  this  may  be  taught  incidentally  during  the  lessons  on 
tli<*  physical  and  S()cial  aspects.     Whenever  alil^eys,  castles, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    OEOriRAPHY.  319 

or  old  towns  are  mentioned  they  should  be  dwelt  on,  and 
examples  of  them  should  be  shown  in  picture  or  in  lantern 
slide.  Important  and  interesting  historic  incidents  should 
be  narrated  in  a  simple  and  graphic  manner.  Hereward 
the  Wake  will  be  associated  with  the  Fens ;  Drate  and 
Raleigh  with  Devon  ;  the  castles  of  the  north,  Flodden 
Field  and  Chevy  Chase  with  the  Cheviots,  and  so  on. 
Names  of  places  should  receive  great  attention,  as  thev 
illustrate  many  points  of  history  in  an  interesting  manner. 
Avon  and  ouse,  pen  and  dun,  worth,  borough  and  ham, 
by,  wick,  and  ford  will  then  mean  something  in  the  history 
of  the  land.  Mr.  Taylor's  excellent  book  on  Words  and 
Places  should  be  known  by  every  teacher,  and  such  infor- 
mation as  is  thei'e  stored  \ip  should  be  brought  into  the 
teaching  to  make  the  very  names  of  mountain,  stream,  and 
village  of  historic  value.  At  least  one  old  city  with  a 
wealth  of  mediaeval  remains  should  be  vividly  set  before 
the  pupils  by  means  of  story,  description,  and  pictures,  in 
which  not  only  the  old  buildings  but  many  interesting 
features  in  the  lives  of  our  ancestors  should  be  sketched  in 
simple  and  bold,  yet  graphic,  outline. 

The  beautiful  scenery  of  the  area  should  be  so  pre- 
sented as  to  arouse  the  aesthetic  appreciation  of  the  pupils. 
Nothing  here  can  be  so  eif  ective  as  lantern  slides  well  used. 
Many  slides  are  not  necessaiy.  On  the  contrary  they  are  a 
hindrance  to  successful  learning ;  for  a  quick  succession  of 
pictiu'es  leaves  only  a  confused  blur  on  the  mind.  Each 
picture  should  be  dwelt  on  and  talked  about  from  tliis 
aspect  and  from  that.  Slides  should  be  shown  again  and 
again  and  compared  with  each  other  as  to  the  beauties 
of  mountain,  valley,  and  lake,  and  Avoodland.  A  teacher 
who  has  visited  many  of  the  scenes  of  grandeur,  beautv, 
and  charm  in  our  islands  and  has  dwelt  on  them  lovingly, 
or  who,  though  unacquainted  with    them  by  travel,  can, 


320  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOaRAPHY. 

through  reading  and  tlie  study  of  pictures,  describe  the 
grandeur  and  sublimity  of  the  peaks  of  Wales,  the  calm 
beauty  of  the  English  lakes,  the  wild  and  rugged  coast 
of  Tintagel,  or  the  peaceful  repose  of  a  Worcestershire 
village,  will  make  these  places  live  in  the  minds  of  the 
pupils .  With  such  pictures  in  their  imagination  the  teacher 
may  call  on  the  poets  to  lend  him  aid,  and  beauties  hitherto 
unseen  will  be  revealed.' 

Each  area  having  been  pictured,  the  British  Isles  should 
again  be  studied  as  a  whole,  but  now  a  whole 
The  British         ^f  vastly  more  meaning   and  life  than  that 
Whole.  "^vit'^i  which  the  teaching  began.     The  scat- 

tered facts  of  each  area  Avill  now  be  brought 
together  into  a  system.  The  industries  and  commerce,  the 
chief  lines  of  communication  by  road,  rail,  and  sea,  London 
as  a  centre  of  national  life,  and  the  sea  and  land  forces 
that  protect  our  islands  will  be  the  main  ideas  roimd  which 
the  teaching  will  centre. 

The  teaching  of  the  industries,  commerce,  and  lines  of 
conimimication  can  well  be  prefaced  by  a 
Commerce!  and  brief  but  clear  description  of  industrial  and 
Lines  of  Com-  commercial  England  before  the  age  of  steam 
munication.  changed  the  centres  of  population  from  the 
South  and  East  to  the  North  and  Midlands.  The  pupils 
should  know  in  broad  outhne  of  the  great  woollen  trade  of 
mediaeval  England,  of  the  introduction  of  various  industries 
from  the  Continent,  of  the  manufacture  of  goods  by  hand 
in  the  homes  of  the  workers,  of  the  pack-horses  and  pack- 
horse  bridges,  of  the  great  fairs,  and  of  the  visits  of  the 
fleets  of  Venice  and  Genoa.  The  conditions  that  made 
for  modern  industrial  and  commercial  centres  should  be 
examined.  The  pupils  should  see  hand  work  replaced  by 
machine  work,  road  and  canal  by  rail,  the  sailing  sliip  by 
I  Cf.  pp.  162-.S. 


THE  TEACHING  OP  GEOGRAPHY.  321 

tlie  steamer,  and  thus  realise  that  coal  and  iron  fields 
and  nearness  of  access  to  a  port  are  now-a-days  con- 
ditions of  industrial  greatness.  They  will  trace  the 
rise  of  such  towns  as  Liverpool,  Grlasgow,  Belfast, 
Newcastle,  and  Middlesbrough,  and  the  comparative 
decline  in  importance  of  places  like  Bristol,  Eye,  and 
Bideford. 

In  presenting  a  rational  account  of  the  industrial  cen- 
tres of  the  British  Isles  the  important  coal  and  iron  fields 
should  be  marked  by  shading  on  sketch  maps,  and  then 
the  circumstances  that  make  each  area  a  cotton,  woollen, 
hardware,  shipbuilding,  pottery,  or  other  centre  should 
be  considered.  The  chief  industrial  and  commercial 
characteristics  of  each  area  should  be  studied,  and  the 
pupils  will  be  interested  in  learning  something  of  the 
processes  by  which  many  articles  are  made,  while  the 
conditions  of  life  of  the  people  engaged  in  each  industry 
shoiold  hold  a  prominent  place  in  the  teaching.  Not  many 
towns  need  be  considered,  and  only  the  most  important 
in  each  industrial  area  should  be  placed  on  the  pupils' 
sketch  maps.  These  should  be  thoroughly  committed  to 
memory. 

As  an  aid  to  grasping  the  industrial  centres  as  a  whole, 
industrial  areas  should  be  compared,  and  those  similar  in 
character  should  be  grouped  together.  The  shipbuilding 
on  the  Clyde,  Tyne,  Thames,  and  at  Barrow,  Belfast,  and 
Devonport  shoidd  be  contrasted.  The  industrial  area  of 
the  Clyde  should  be  compared  with  those  of  Yorkshire, 
Lancashire,  and  the  Tyne.  By  means  of  such  comparisons 
and  contrasts  the  pupils  will  appreciate  more  clearly  the 
many  and  various  conditions  that  make  for  industrial 
success.  They  will  begin  to  understand  that  geographical 
features  are  of  great  moment  in  deciding  where  a  great 
port  or  a  great  industrial  town  will  grow  up,  and  will  see 

PR.  TG.  21 


322  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY. 

that  sometimes  tlie  raw  produce  is  brouglit  to  tlie  coalfield 
and  at  others  the  coal  is  brought  to  the  raw  produce. 

The  areas  devoted  to  crops  and  to  pasture  should  be 
dealt  with  in  a  similar  manner,  and  the  fishing  stations 
and  the  migration  of  the  fishing  fleets  furnish  an  important 
and  interesting  topic. 

Tlie  study  of  the  communications  by  land  and  sea  will 
naturally  follow  that  of  the  industrial  and  commercial 
centres,  and  here  the  position  of  London  as  the  business 
centre  of  the  British  Isles  must  be  noted.  Its  vast  shipping, 
its  numerous  industries,  its  teeming  population  should  be 
described,  and  its  financial  and  business  connection  with 
every  industrial  and  commercial  area  in  the  country  made 
clear. 

It  will  soon  be  evident  that  as  the  centre  of  English 
business  hfe  London  must  be  the  centre  of  the  network  of 
communications  that  bring  it  into  connection  with  every 
part  of  the  British  Isles  and  every  part  of  Europe  and  the 
World.  The  pupils  should  infer  where  the  main  lines  of 
commianication  in  the  British  Isles  will  pass,  by  consider- 
ing the  circumstances  of  each  area  and  by  examining  the 
contour  of  the  country  from  a  good  orographic  map  or 
model.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  the  main  the  railways 
follow  the  ancient  and  natural  lines  of  communication. 
One  runs  into  Scotland  up  the  broad  vale  of  York,  and 
thence  near  the  coast  to  the  gap  between  the  Cheviots  and 
the  sea  and  so  to  Edinburgh  ;  another  up  the  coast  strip 
of  Lancashire  through  the  passes  of  the  Cumbrians  and 
the  Carlisle  gap  to  G-lasgow.  The  Irish  route  follows 
generally  the  old  Watling  Street  to  Chester,  thence  by  the 
sea  coast  to  Holyhead  and  across  the  Irish  Sea  to  Dublin. 
The  system  of  land  and  sea  routes  that  bind  the  various 
areas  in  the  three  kingdoms  into  an  industrial  and  com- 
mercial unit  should  be  considered  as  a  whole  ;  only  so  can 


THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY.  323 

the  British  Isles  be  grasped  as  a  single  national  and  indus- 
trial organism. 

But  only  a  vague  conception  of  the  commerce  of  the 
British  Isles  can  be  reached  without  some  knowledge  of 
the  world  as  a  whole.  Undoubtedly  it  is  best  to  study 
thoroughly  and  comprehensively  the  commerce  of  Britain 
in  connection  with  the  development  of  industry,  commerce, 
and  empire  during  the  nineteenth  century,  a  topic  which 
should  be  considered  in  the  course  on  history  in  the  sixth 
or  seventh  year.  Some  simple  notions,  however,  of  the 
relations  between  the  British  Isles  and  the  rest  of  the 
world  are  needed  at  this  earlier  stage. 

The  pupils  must  know  that  the  earth  is  a  sphere,  and 
must  have  a  clear  idea  of  its  division  into 
General  oceans    and    continents.      A  large  globe,  on 

of  the  World,  which  only  the  most  important  features  are 
marked,  and  those  with  great  boldness,  is 
essential  in  this  teaching.  The  countries  in  close  political 
and  commercial  connection  with  oiu*  own  land  should  be 
pointed  out,  so  that  such  facts  as  that  tea  comes  from  China 
and  India,  cotton  from  the  United  States,  Egypt,  and  India, 
timber  from  Canada  and  Sweden  will  mean  something  to 
the  pupils.  Though  at  this  stage  little  can  be  learnt  about 
these  countries  themselves,  yet  a  considerable  amount  of 
information  about  the  things  we  get  from  them  shotdd  be 
given.  Tea  and  cotton  plantations,  forests  and  timber 
felling,  the  mulberry  tree  and  the  silk  worms,  sheep  and 
cattle  ranches  should  be  described,  and  the  history  of 
important  imports  from  the  place  of  production  to  the 
hands  of  the  consumer  should  be  traced. 

No  attempt  should  be  made  to  prove  the  rotundity 
of  the  earth.  This  fact,  like  many  others  in  geography, 
must  be  presented  didactically,  but  it  should  be  illus- 
trated   by    every    means   in   the    teacher's    power.     The 


324  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY. 

rotundity  and  size  of  the  earth  are  no  dovibt  large  con- 
ceptions for  the  young  mind  to  grasp,  and  it  is  hardly 
likely  that  at  this  stage  they  will  be  true  and  full.  We 
must  remember,  however,  that  there  are  several  years  of 
school  life  before  the  pupils  in  wliich  these  ideas  should 
become  clearer,  fuller,  and  more  real.  More  complete  and 
thorough  treatment  will  be  reserved  until  the  pupils  have 
greater  depth  and  breadth  of  experience,  and  until  it  is 
necessitated  by  the  course  in  history  having  reached  the 
Age  of  Discovery.  Eeference,  of  course,  should  l)e  made  to 
ships  sailing  round  the  world,  and  to  the  gradual  dis- 
appearance of  ships  at  sea.  These  facts  should  not  be 
given  as  proofs,  but  simply  as  illustrations  to  help  in 
securing  a  fuller  realisation  of  the  ideas  on  which  they 
throw  light.  The  latter  illustration,  perhaps,  is  best  shown 
by  means  of  a  large  globe,  round  which  is  passed  a  ribbon 
with  small  representations  of  ships  attached.  As  the  teacher 
slowly  moves  this  ribbon  round  the  pupils  will  notice  the 
gradual  disappearance  or  appearance  of  the  ships. 

London  as  a  centre  of  national  activity  now  remains  to 
be  considered.     No  abstract  treatment  of  this 
Centre  conception  should  be  attempted.     Only  broad 

of  National  plain  facts  that  can  be  exemplified  by  people, 
Activi  y.  events,  and  buildings  should  be  noticed.  The 

course  in  history  will  gradually  bring  clearer,  fuller,  and 
deeper  notions  concerning  national  life.  Buckingham 
Palace  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament  at  Westminster 
will  typify  the  constitution ;  and  a  simple  sketch  of  an 
election,  the  passing  of  a  bill,  and  the  work  of  such 
important  ministers  as  the  Premier,  the  Home,  Foreign, 
and  Colonial  Secretaries  should  be  given.  The  Law 
Courts  will  represent  the  centre  of  justice  ;  and  judge, 
counsel,  plaintiff,  defendant,  and  witnesses  will  be 
pictured.     Westminster  Abbey  and  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHT.  325 

as  great  historic  buildings  and  the  burying  places  of  our 
national  heroes,  should  be  dwelt  on  with  reverence.  Fleet 
Street  should  be  shown  as  the  news-centre  of  our  island, 
and  our  postal  and  telegraph  systems  may  well  be  sketched 
by  outlining  how  news  is  obtained  and  circulated  among 
the  people.  The  British  Museum,  the  Museums  at  South 
Kensington,  and  the  various  Ai-t  Gralleries  will  give  oppor- 
tunity for  dwelling  on  the  more  cultured  side  of  our  national 
Hfe. 

Attention  may  then  most  fittingly  be  transferred  to  the 
two  ancient  English  seats  of  learning,  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge, and  to  the  Universities  of  Scotland  and  Dublin. 
Simple  notions  of  the  educational  work  of  these  places 
should  be  given  and  pictures  of  the  most  important  and 
most  beautiful  of  their  buildings  shown.  The  gi-owth  of 
the  industrial  centres  will  account  for  the  rise  of  our 
modern  universities  in  London  and  the  provinces. 

In  a  similar  manner  Edinburgh  and  Dublin,  as  the 
centres  of  the  more  local  life  of  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
should  be  briefly  pictured. 

The  navy  and  army  as  means  of  national  defence  should 
receive  attention.  The  importance  of  our  navy  should  be 
brought  out  by  reference  to  the  fact  that  our  country  is  a 
group  of  islands,  to  their  position,  and  to  the  extent  of  our 
empire  and  commerce.  The  important  naval  centres  should 
be  located  and  described,  and  the  reason  for  their  position 
made  manifest 

7.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  year  an  entirely  new  set 

of  conditions  is  met  with  which  influences 

Relation  of         profoundly  the   course  of   teaching  in  geo- 

Courses  in  graphy  during  the  two  or  three  concluding 

Geography  and  ,       ,    *      . ,  .  ^ 

History.  years  ot  school  Hfe.     In  history  the  pupils 

are  about  to  begin  an  organised  course  on 

the  great  movements  of  European  civilisation.     Beginning 


326  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

with  the  city  states  of  Gfreece  they  will  trace  out  the 
advauce,  decline,  and  final  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
They  will  see  Feudalism  and  Christianity  slowly  bring- 
ing justice  and  settled  government,  and  nation  after 
nation  consolidated  into  something  of  its  present  form. 
They  will  note  how  the  hordes  of  Arabs,  Huns,  and 
Turks  invade  the  frontiers  on  the  east  and  south,  and 
how,  one  after  another,  they  are  hurled  back.  The  age 
of  discovery  and  of  religious  strife  "will  take  them  over 
the  Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans  to  watch  the  founda- 
tion of  European  settlements  in  America  and  India, 
until  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  Avill  bring 
them  to  the  rise  of  western  modes  of  life  in  AustraUa 
and  South  Africa.  Finally,  the  closing  years  of  the 
nineteenth  century  and  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth 
will  bring  China,  Japan,  and  liussia  prominently  under 
their  notice. 

To  imderstand  these  progressive  and  extending  move- 
ments is  the  great  and  complex  problem  that  faces  the 
pupils,  and  these  are  the  new  conditions  which  the  teacher 
must  examine  and  weigh  in  arranging  the  choice  of 
matter  and  the  order  of  topics  in  his  teaching  of  geo- 
graphy. 

The  teaching  should,  in  placing  before  the  pupils  the  ph}'- 
sical  conditions  of  countries  and  continents,  seek  to  explain 
historical  events.  It  should  give  an  account  of  the  lands 
and  peoples  that,  in  the  course  of  history,  are  the  suc- 
cessive centres  of  interest.  The  build  of  a  country ;  its 
position  relative  to  the  influence  of  other  nations ;  the 
presence  or  absence  of  natural  resources  that  make  for 
or  against  pi-ogress  ;  the  characteristics  of  the  people — 
their  genius  in  taking  advantage  of  nature's  gifts,  their 
courage  and  enterj)rise  in  rising  above  its  frowns,  and 
the  results  in  thought,  religion,  ai't,  government,  industry, 


THE    TEACHING    OP    OEOaEAPHY.  327 

and  commerce  that  have  resulted  from  their  labours  ;  these 
it  is  the  function  of  geography  to  set  before  the  pupils  fully 
and  truly. 

From  this  account  of  the  function  of  geography  in  the 
upper  school,  it  follows  that  the  order  of  topics  is  deter- 
mined by  the  sequence  of  history.  The  teaching  should 
begin  with  Europe  in  general,  and  with  the  Mediterranean 
area  in  particular.  Asia  Minor,  the  Levant,  and  the  northern 
shores  of  Africa  should  not  be  excluded.  These,  both  poli- 
tically and  geographically,  are  part  of  the  Mediterranean 
area,  and  were  subject  to  the  movements  that  began  and 
spread  around  the  shores  of  that  sea.  Their  peoples,  re- 
ligions, art,  climate,  and  natural  resoiu"ces  ai'e  similar  in 
the  main  to  those  of  the  other  countries  around  its  borders. 
The  Barbary  states  have  affinities  with  Spain ;  Asia  Minor 
with  European  Turkey.  Egypt  alone  stands  apart,  on 
account  of  the  pecuUar  physical  conditions  that  made  it 
the  bu'thplace  of  civilisation,  and,  combined  with  its 
position  relative  to  India,  have  throughout  the  ages  swept  it 
into  the  flux  of  Eui'opean  politics.  Europe  and  the  Medi- 
terranean will,  then,  be  the  subject-matter  of  geography, 
as  long  as  historic  interest  centres  in  that  area;  when 
the  progress  of  events  brings  the  New  World,  the  ancient 
civilisations  of  Asia,  and  the  modern  colonies  in  Australia 
and  in  Africa  before  the  eyes  of  the  pupils  the  course 
should  be  extended  to  embrace  the  whole  world. 

The  order  in  which  the  various  countries  are  dealt 
with  should  follow  the  main  course  of  events.  With  the 
history  of  Ancient  Greec^e  will  come  the  physical  aspect  of 
that  country.  Italy  will  be  considered  in  connection  with 
the  growth  of  the  Roman  Empire;  Spain,  France,  Ger- 
many,  and  Austria,  with  the  expansion  of  that  Empire 
over  those  countries,  with  the  barbarian  invasions,  and 
with  the  birth  of  Eiu-opean  nations.    Asia  Minor,  the  Holy 


328  THE    TEACHINa    OF    GEOGRAPHY, 

Land,  Egypt,  the  nortliern  shores  of  Africa  will  be  studied 
most  naturally  when  the  Arab  invasions  are  the  historical 
centre  of  interest,  and  the  Balkan  States  when  the  invasions 
of  the  Turks  are  under  consideration.  The  Netherlands, 
Scandinavia,  and  Eussia  will  complete  the  whole  continent, 
though  these  countries  do  not  come  prominently  into  Euro- 
pean history  until  after  the  Reformation. 

With  Vasco  da  Gama  and  Columbus  the  interest  will 
cross  the  seas  to  Africa,  Asia,  and  America.  The  con- 
quests of  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards  in  central  and 
southern  America,  together  with  the  commercial  and  re- 
ligious settlements  of  the  Dutch,  French,  and  English  in 
the  northern  half  of  the  continent,  will  bring  the  geography 
of  America  to  the  front.  This  will  prepare  the  way  for  a 
fuller  understanding  of  the  course  of  events  in  the  struggle 
for  supremacy  between  France  and  England  and  in  the 
American  War  of  Independence.  From  America  the  teach- 
ing will  pass  to  Asia,  India  being  considered  in  conjunction 
with  the  strife  between  the  French  and  English  for  the 
possession  of  its  trade.  Australasia,  Africa,  China,  and 
Japan  remain  as  places  of  historic  importance,  a  knowledge 
of  the  geography  of  which  will  be  needed  in  following 
the  further  growth  of  the  British  Empire  and  the  com- 
mercial rivalries  of  the  modern  world.  The  development 
of  industry  and  commerce  during  the  nineteenth  century, 
due  to  the  invention  of  steam  power,  wiU.  be  a  prominent 
featiire  of  the  course  in  history,  and  here  will  be  a  fitting 
opportimity  to  take  a  wider  and  deeper  review  of  the 
industries  and  commerce  of  the  British  Isles  than  was 
possible  in  the  third  and  fourth  years.  Such  lessons  will 
serve  not  only  to  revise  and  expand  the  pupils'  knowledge 
of  their  own  land,  but  to  deepen  and  systematise  their 
knowledge  of  the  produce  and  industries  of  other  countries. 
The  nature  and  amount  of  our  imports  and  exports  should 


THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY.  329 

be  studied,  and  the  countries  from  which  we  receive  our 
food  stuffs  and  raw  material,  and  to  which  we  import  the 
products  of  our  factories  should  be  noted.  The  size  and 
importance  of  our  mercantile  marine  and  the  chief  ocean 
routes  and  coaling  stations  should  also  be  examined. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  course  of 
history  will  bring  certain  coxmtries  many  times  into  the 
foreground.  Germany,  Italy,  the  Balkan  States,  and 
Grreece  figure  prominently  in  the  growth  of  national  spirit 
in  the  nineteenth  centmy.  France,  Spain,  Italy,  the 
Ehine,  and  Russia  were  the  theatre  of  the  Napoleonic  wars. 
Hence  the  pupils'  knowledge  of  these  countries  will  con- 
tinually be  growing  fuller  and  fuller  as  the  history  ad- 
vances. Complete  geographical  treatment  of  a  country 
may  not,  therefore,  always  be  necessary  when  it  is  first 
considered.  The  teacher  should  exercise  his  discretion  as 
to  how  much  he  can  leave  to  be  dealt  with  when  that 
country  again  figures  prominently  in  the  history. 
Obviously,  however,  there  can  be  no  perfect  synchron- 
ising of  the  teaching  of  history  and  geography.  The 
course  in  geography  cannot  diverge  here  and  there  as 
historic  interest  passes  from  country  to  country.  Each 
country  will  as  a  rule  be  studied  fully  in  its  geographical 
aspect  before  another  country  is  considered  in  detail, 
although  at  the  same  time  a  thorough  treatment  of  the 
physical  conditions  and  the  people  must  take  into  account 
the  connections  and  afiinities  that  exist  between  them 
and  the  conditions  and  people  of  other  parts  of  the 
continent. 

The  order  of  topics  as  outlined  above  is  not  laid  down 
as  a  fixed  and  unalterable  one.  It  is  only  offered  as  a  sug- 
gestion to  help  the  teacher  in  drawing  up  his  own  coiu'se. 
We  wish  only  to  emphasise  the  general  principles  on  which 
such  a  course  shoidd  be  based,  by  illustrating  how  the  details 


330  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY. 

might  be  worked  out.  lu  deciding  on  his  course  the 
teacher  should  consider  with  w^hat  fulness  and  with  what 
emphasis  he  intends  to  trace  out  the  movements  in  ancient, 
mediaeval,  and  modern  history,  and  should  arrange  his 
course  in  geography  accordingly. 

8.  The  physical  and  hiunan  relations  that  bind  country  to 
country  suggest  that  a  rational  study  of 
General  Europe  should  begin  by  considering   it  as 

a  Continent.  ^  whole.  Similar  reasonings  apply  to  the 
study  of  every  continent.  The  general  build, 
the  main  mountain  ranges,  the  chief  river  basins,  the  great 
plains,  the  large  projecting  peninsulas,  shoiild  be  learned 
in  bold  outline  by  the  study  of  a  model  and  photo-relief 
or  orograj^hic  map.  On  the  physical  side,  such  outlining 
consists  in  noting  the  geographical  areas  and  their  boun- 
daries. Human  interest,  however,  must  dwell  on  pohtical 
areas  and  frontiers,  and  such  questions  as  what  constitutes 
a  nation  and  what  is  a  suitable  frontier  may  well  be 
discussed. 

It  will  be  found  that  racial  characteristics,  language, 
religion,  and  freedom  of  intercourse  affect  the  answer  to 
be  given  in  each  particular  case ;  for  example,  great  fertile 
plains  and  broad  alluvial  valleys  tend  to  become  occupied 
by  the  same  nation.  Organised  governments  rose  on  the 
fertile  plains  of  the  Nile,  Gauges,  and  the  rivers  of  China. 
Freedom  of  intercourse  is  necessary  for  cohesion.  Dense 
forests  and  broad  fens  were  impassable  by  wandering 
tribes  and  hence  proved  excellent  frontiers.  Mountain 
chains  and  arid  plains  were  unfavourable  both  to  warlike 
aggression  and  to  peaceful  intercourse,  though  gaps  and 
passes  gave  possible,  if  not  easy,  access  to  merchants  of 
neighbouring  countries  or  to  advancing  armies.  Such  con- 
siderations as  these  should  be  dwelt  on  in  marking  out 
the   dilTerent    geographical  and   political   areas,    and    the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 


331 


progress  of  eveuts  iu  history  will  contiuually  give  oppor- 
tunities for  discussing  them  further.  At  the  same  time  it 
must  be  noted  that  in  all  cases  disturbing  human  forces 
A^dll  modify,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  physical  influences, 
so  that  political  do  not  always  coincide  with  natural 
frontiers. 

9.  In  studying  a  continent  or  country  in  its  physical 

aspect  only  those  features  that  have,  or  have 

Relation  of        j^^^j^  .^^^  influence  in  determining  its  political. 

Social  Aspects,  social,  commercial,  or  industrial  f  oi'tunes  need 

be  dwelt  on. 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  climate,  vegetable  and 
mineral  resources,  the  nature  of  the  mountains,  rivers,  and 
coast  line  are  influences  in  the  destinies  of  a  people. 

In  Greece  proximity  to  the  civilisation  of  Egypt,  together 
with  a  great  extent  of  coast  line  and  many  good  harbours 
aiding  free  maritime  intercourse,  favoured  the  advance 
of  the  Greek,  whilst  its  numerous  mountain  ranges,  by 
isolating  its  fertile  valleys,  hindered  union  into  one 
nation.' 

Italy  and  the  Iberian  peninsula,  too,  are  examples  of 
countries  whose  physical  conditions  tend  to  the  formation 
of  independent  sections  among  the  people.  The  great 
length  of  the  former  as  compared  with  its  width,  and 
separation  of  the  east  from  the  west  by  the  Apennines, 
hinder  that  complete  solidarity  of  thought  that  is  necessary 
f(^r  a  strong  national  spirit.  In  the  latter  a  similar  result 
has  been  produced  by  a  barren  interior,  niimerous  moun- 
tain chains,  unnavigable  rivers,  and  a  coast  line  difficult 
of  access  ;  all  of  which  have  rendered  peaceful  intercourse 
and  exchange  of  commodities  and  culture  difficult  in  the 

1  The  teacher  is  advi.sed  to  read  Chap.  I.,  I'art  II.,  of  Grote's 
History  of  Greece,  where  tliis  subject  is  very  thoroughl}-  discussed. 


S32 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY. 


extreme,  the  result  being  that  there  is  no  really  national, 
but  only  local,  feeling. 

In  France,  on  the  other  hand,  the  compact  nature  of 
the  country,  and  the  long,  deep,  navigable  rivers  that 
render  every  part  accessible,  favoured  the  formation  of  a 
strong  national  spirit  by  union  under  one  ci'own.  At  the 
same  time  its  mountain  and  sea  frontiers,  except  on  the 
north-east,  have  hindered  warlike  aggression  from  neigh- 
bouring states. 

The  long  narrow  Mediterranean  Sea  with  its  numerous 
islands  and  projecting  peninsulas,  closed  from  the  Atlantic 
and  protected  from  its  waves,  has  always  been  a  busy  high- 
Avay  for  international  intercourse.  Phoenician  and  GTreek 
traders  were  found  in  every  land,  and  their  colonies  sprang 
up  around  its  shores.  The  same  sea  made  it  easy  for 
Rome  to  expand  her  influence  over  the  countries  on  its 
borders.  The  importance  of  Alexandria  is  explained  by 
its  position  at  the  mouth  of  the  fertile  valley  of  the  ISTile. 
This  great  city  collected  the  wealth  of  Egypt  and  distributed 
it  over  the  known  world.  Later,  its  position  on  the  chief 
trade  route  to  India  made  it  the  great  emporium  of  the 
eastern  Mediterranean,  whence  all  goods  were  transported 
to  and  from  the  Red  Sea.  The  presence  of  the  sea 
accounted  for  the  rise  to  wealth  and  power  of  the  great 
cities  of  Venice,  Floi'ence,  and  Greuoa.  The  discovery  of 
the  Cape  route  to  India  brought  about  the  decline  of 
Alexandria  and  of  the  great  Italian  cities,  and  the  rise 
of  maritime  countries  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 

In  modern  times  steam  power,  electricity,  and  niimerous 
mechanical  inventions  are  human  agencies  that,  by  over- 
coming time,  space,  and  natural  obstacles,  make  communi- 
cation between  country  and  country  quick  and  easy. 
These  agencies  must  be  reckoned  with  in  considering  the 
growth   and   solidarity   of   the   British   Empire,   and  the 


THE  TEACHING  OP  GEOGEAPHT.  333 

development  of  the  United  States,   Canada,  Africa,  and 
Australia. 

10.  In  studying  the  peoples  of   the   various   countries 

a  very  complex  problem  awaits  the  teacher, 
of^eography.  ^  "^^^^  peoples  of  Western  Europe,  though  no 

doubt  marked  each  by  its  own  peculiar 
characteristics,  are  in  the  main  very  similar  to  each  other. 
The  spread  of  Greek  and  Roman  civilisation  in  all 
coxintries,  the  mixture  of  races,  and  freedom  of  intercourse 
have  led  to  a  common  religion  of  Christianity,  and  a 
marked  similarity  in  systems  of  government,  in  thought 
art,  and  general  culture.  Advance  in  civilisation,  of  course, 
varies  from  country  to  country,  but  in  comparison  with  the 
other  peoples  of  the  world  the  peoples  of  Western  Eiu-ope, 
whether  in  their  old  homes  or  in  new  homes  across  the 
sea,  present  a  type  of  life,  thought,  religion,  morality,  and 
social  customs  that  mark  them  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
world.  There  is  httle  difficvilty,  therefore,  in  presenting 
them  to  the  pupils. 

Far  different  is  it  in  picturing  the  peoples  of  the  East, 
and  the  native  races  of  America  and  Africa.  Their  reli- 
gions, modes  of  thought,  ideas  of  beauty  and  culture,  their 
customs  and  habits  of  daily  life  are  in  striking  contrast  to 
those  of  Western  Europe.  A  wide  knowledge  of  racial 
characteristics,  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  details  of 
their  lives,  are  essential  to  the  teacher  if  he  is  to  present  a 
vivid  and  real  picture  of  these  alien  races.  G-eneralities  are 
vague  and  convey  little  meaning ;  too  often  they  lead  only 
to  the  memorising  of  formulas.  To  be  fruitful  they  must 
be  clothed  with  a  wealth  of  detailed  facts  that  stirs 
the  imagination  and  excites  that  feeling  of  sympathy  which 
shows  that  the  pupils  have  entered  with  mind  and  heart 
into  the  inner  lives  of  these  peoples.  It  is  not  enougli  to 
present    pictures    of    appearance,    di-ess,    dwellings,    and 


334  THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY. 

occupations,  though  these  certainly  should  form  part  of 
the  pupils'  notion.  An  account  should  be  given  of  beliefs 
and  superstitions,  of  religious  rites  and  ceremonies,  of 
characteristic  modes  of  thought,  of  the  hereditary  and 
national  instincts  which  lead  men  to  be  warriors,  hunters, 
or  tillers  of  the  soil.  Representations  of  temples,  sculp- 
ture, and  other  art  work  should  be  placed  before  the 
pupils  in  graphic  detail. 

In  the  national  characteristics  of  a  people  much  is  due 
to  the  mixture  of  races  resulting  from  the  various  invasions 
and  migrations  that,  from  time  to  time,  have  taken  place. 
The  pupils  should  know  the  chief  racial  peculiarities  of  Celt, 
Teuton,  Arab,  Slav,  Turk,  Mongol,  and  other  peoples  that 
overran  or  invaded  Europe  and  Asia  at  various  times. 
The  course  in  history  will  set  forth  how  they  poured 
from  time  to  time  over  the  borders  and  conquered 
the  occupiers  of  the  soil.  Sometimes  the  races  blended, 
producing  a  people  whose  instincts  savoured  of  both,  as 
in  many  European  countries.  Sometimes  the  weaker  suc- 
cumbed and  almost  died  out,  as  in  the  case  of  the  native 
tribes  of  North  America  and  Australia.  Sometimes  the 
two  races  lived  on  side  by  side,  each  people  pursuing  its 
own  ideals  in  its  own  way.  This  is  markedly  exemplified 
in  India,  Avhere  many  peoples  with  different  languages, 
religions,  and  ways  of  life  occupy  the  country  but  have 
never  amalgamated  into  one  nationality. 

Whatever  the  final  outcome  of  the  many  migrations  re- 
corded by  history,  each  left  some  more  or  less  distinct  mark 
on  the  country.  The  invaders  either  built  up  or  destroyed. 
Conquest  has  tiu-ned  many  fair  and  prosperous  lands 
into  arid  wastes  of  poverty.  Asia  Minor  was  a  thickly 
populated  province  before  its  occupation  by  the  Turks. 
Spain  under  the  Romans  was  one  of  the  granaries  of  the 
Empire,  and  under  the  Moors   was  the   fairest   land   in 


THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY.  335 

Europe.  With  tlie  Christian  conquest  '^  followed  the 
abomination  of  desolation,  the  rule  of  the  Inquisition,  and 
the  blackness  of  darkness  in  which  Si>xin  has  been  plunged 
ever  since."  i  On  the  otlier  hand,  Eoman  occupation  feft 
its  mark  tlii-oughout  its  broad  empire  in  cities,  roads,  har- 
bours, cultivated  lands,  and  in  the  language,  customs,' laws, 
and  government  of  the  people. 

The  names  of  mountains,  rivers,  and  towns  are  striking 
evidence  of  the  peoples  who  have  governed  or  occupied  the 
land.  Such  names  as  Paris  and  Turin  mark  the  origmal 
tribes ;  Cadiz  and  Lisbon  are  signs  of  the  maritime  spirit 
of  the  Phoenicians.  Indications  in  place  names  of  the 
Eoman  occupation,  invasions  of  the  Northmen  and  of 
Arabs  are  found  throughout  Europe.  The  spheres  of  the 
Dutch,  French,  and  Spanish  conquests  in  America  can  be 
seen  from  a  glance  of  the  map. 

It  is  with  such  considerations  as  these  that  a  country 
begins  to  mean  something  more  than  a  tract  of  land.  It 
is  a  book  on  which  events  have  written  their  history  in 
fertile  fields  and  populous  towns,  in  buildings,  roads, 
harbours,  and  works  of  all  kinds,  in  names  of  province 
and  city.  The  pupils  should  be  taught  to  read  its  story 
with  sympathy  and  reverence. 

11.  Tlie  geography  during  the  later  years  of  scliool  life 
presents  many  very   diverse  phenomena  in 

Ph^icar  ^^"^y  P^^"^^  «f   ^^16  ^^^-l^-     Many  different 

Geography.  climates — cold,  hot,  moist,  and  dry,  some 
equable  and  others  extreme— will  be  imder 
review.  Flora  and  fauna,  too,  of  very  varied  natiu-e  will 
be  pictured.  Mountainous  regions,  flat  plains,  broad 
alluvial  valleys  supporting  huge  populations,  narrow  rocky 
gorges  hindering  rather  than  aiding  commercial  and 
social  intercourse,  will  be  met  with.  So  diversified  and 
'  Lane  Poole,  The  Moors  in  Spain.     Preface,  p.  viii. 


336  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY. 

mimerous  are  the  different  kinds  of  physical  conditions 
that  aid  or  hinder  man's  daily  work  and  social  intercourse 
that  to  present  them  as  separate  concrete  phenomena 
would  lead  to  much  confusion  and  would  involve  great 
labour  in  learning.  Underlying  each  of  the  numerous 
physical  conditions  are  a  few  main  physiographical 
principles  concerning  climate,  vegetation,  and  the  forma- 
tion of  mountain  and  river  that  give  unity  and  system  to 
an  enormous  mass  of  detail.  A  knowledge  of  these 
principles  is  essential  to  the  rational  comprehension  of 
the  climate,  vegetation,  and  surface  of  a  country.  Hence, 
when  so  great  a  complexity  and  variety  of  physical  circum- 
stances must  be  dealt  with,  it  is  most  important  that 
the  pupils  should  become  acquainted  with  these  general 
notions  in  order  that  learning  may  be  facilitated  and  time 
saved,  and  that  they  may  perceive  in  such  phenomena  the 
working  of  certain  fundamental  natural  forces. 

Little  can  be  done  in  this  direction  until  the  beginning 
of  the  fifth  year.  Until  then  the  pupils  are  making  some 
acquaintance  with  the  details  of  comparatively  small  areas 
differing  in  physical  peculiarities  comparatively  little  from 
each  other.  But  even  during  this  earlier  period  the 
various  physical  conditions  in  the  British  Isles  will,  under 
a  good  teacher,  have  led  the  pupils  to  inquire  into  the 
probable  cause  of  these  variations.  They  should  have 
been  led  to  understand  why  Ireland  is  moist  and  Eastern 
England  much  drier,  why  the  northern  highlands  are 
comparatively  barren  wliile  the  plain  of  York  supports  a 
large  village  and  town  population. 

By   the   fifth   year   the   pupils    should   have   advanced 
sufiiciently  in  breadth  of  knowledge  and  in 
Mai*  Course,     intellectual   power  to    profit  by  an    organ- 
ised   course    in    important   physiographical 
principles.     This  course  should  not  be  separated  from  the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY.  337 

main  course  in  geography ;  it  should  be  tavight  in  con- 
nection with  it  and  be  largely  determined  by  it  in  the  order 
of  topics. 

The  consideration  of  climate  will  come  first  as  one  of 
the  most  important  influences  on  man's  life.  The  effect 
of  climate  on  vegetation  and  animal  life  will  naturally 
follow.  Monsoons  need  not  be  explained  until  India 
becomes  the  subject  for  study.  Storms  and  hurricanes 
will  be  dealt  with  in  connection  with  the  West  Indies  and 
the  Indian  Ocean. 

With  the  study  of  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees  can  begin  the 
teaching  of  the  formation  of  mountains  and  the  denuding 
action  of  glaciers  and  rivers.  These  will  receive  further 
consideration  when  the  Himalayas  and  the  Rockies  are 
studied. 

The  formation  of  river  valleys  will  be  constantly  under 
discussion.  Broad  alluvial  valleys  can  be  examined  in 
the  lessons  on  the  Po,  Nile,  Ganges,  and  Mississippi,  and 
narrow  rocky  gorges  will  be  observed  in  teaching  the 
rivers  of  Spain,  the  sources  of  the  Brahmaputra  and 
Indus,  and  the  caiions  of  the  Colorado. 

In  this  way  an  intimate  connection  will  be  maintained 
between  physiographical  principles  and  geographical 
phenomena ;  the  former  Avill  constantly  be  apphed  in 
explaining  the  various  geographical  facts  met  with  as  the 
pupils  pass  from  country  to  country  and  from  continent 
to  continent. 

From  the  early  course  on  geography  and  from  general 
information    which    will    have  been  gained 

Ve^tation  ^^'^^  ^^^^^  *^  *"^^  about  the  countries  from 
which  various  articles  such  as  tea  and  cotton 
are  brought,  the  pupils  will  have  acquired  a  considerable 
body  of  knowledge  with  regard  to  climate.  They  will 
know  there   are   countries  hotter    and  colder  than    their 

PB.  TU.  22 


338  THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY. 

own,  countries  drier  and  wetter,  countries  which  have 
warmer  summers  but  colder  winters.  By  an  analysis 
of  this  knowledge  they  should  reach  a  rough  classifi- 
cation of  the  various  kinds  of  climates,  and  from  this 
should  pass  on  to  determine  the  causes  that  produce 
these  variations.  They  -n-ill  consider  how  latitude,  alti- 
tude, mountains,  winds,  vast  expanses  of  water  and  land, 
ocean  currents,  have  each  its  influence  in  determining 
the  degree  of  warmth,  moisture,  and  equableness  of  the 
climate  of  a  country.  Isothermal  chai-ts  of  the  world 
for  January  and  July  should  be  examined,  and  the  pupils 
should  show  their  grasp  of  the  conditions  that  make  for 
and  against  heat  and  cold  by  explaining  the  variations 
in  the  direction  of  the  isotherms  as  they  pass  over  conti- 
nents and  seas,  over  low  plains  and  valleys,  and  over 
mountainous  regions.  Eain  charts  of  the  world  should  be 
similarly  studied.  Many  illustrations  of  climaijs  in 
different  parts  of  the  world  should  be  given  during  this 
teacliing  to  help  the  pupils  to  attain  a  thorough  grasp  of 
climatic  conditions,  but  the  real  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples will  come  when  they  begin  the  first  study  of  a 
country.  Each  country  will  then  present  a  fresh  oppor- 
tunity for  gaining  a  more  detailed  and  clearer  grasp  of  the 
subject. 

The  influence  of  clunate  on  vegetation  should  next  be 
considered,  and  should  lead  up  to  a  knowledge  of  the  zones 
of  vegetation  and  the  kind  of  vegetation  peculiar  to  each. 
Temperature  and  moistiire  will  be  shown  to  be  the  main 
factors  in  determining  the  amount  and  kind  of  vegeta- 
tion. The  effect  of  temperature  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  change  in  vegetation  in  passing  from  the  equator 
to  the  poles  or  in  ascending  mountains  of  considerable 
height,  and  the  influence  of  moisture  by  comparing  such 
arid  lands  as  the  Sahara,  Arabia,  und  the  Spanish  plateau 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  339 

with  the  tropical  forests  of  Africa  and  America.  Scenes 
typical  of  each  zone  should  be  gi-aphically  described  and 
amply  illustrated  by  pictures  and,  where  possible,  by 
specimens  of  plants.  Such  typical  regions  as  a  tropical 
forest,  an  arid  waste,  the  Mediterranean  area,  a  pine 
and  fir  region,  should  be  described.  Man's  efforts  to 
overcome  natural  diflSculties  by  irrigation  should  be 
dealt  with  and  illustrated  by  reference  to  such  coun- 
ti'ies  as  Spain,  Egypt,  and  India.  So  will  the  pupils 
be  aided  to  picture  realistically  the  characteristic  vege- 
tation of  the  various  zones. 

A  thorough  study  of  climate  demands  a  treatment  of 
winds  and  currents ;  of  atmospheric  moisture  and  the  con- 
ditions which  make  for  and  against  its  condensation ;  and 
of  the  rotation  and  revolution  of  the  earth,  their  results  in 
the  succession  of  seasons  and  the  variation  in  the  length  of 
day  and  night,  and  their  influence  on  the  directions  of 
winds  and  currents. 

The  two  former  will  require  lessons  of  an  experimental 
character.  Expansion  and  contraction  of  liquids  and 
gases  by  heat  and  cold,  convection  in  air  and  water,  evapo- 
ration and  condensation  should  be  ill^^strated  by  suitable 
apparatus,  and  the  principles  so  demonstrated  applied  to 
the  wider  and  more  complex  conditions  on  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  A  very  common  mistake  in  teaching  such 
topics  is  the  statement  that  "  heated  air  or  water  rises." 
Such  is  not  the  case,  unless  it  be  in  dynamical  relations 
with  a  heavier  sitbstance,  as  cold  air  or  water.  It  is  the 
colder  air  that  forces  the  relatively  lighter  heated  air 
upwards.  Another  common  but  erroneous  statement  is  that 
"  moist  air  striking  on  cold  mountains  causes  rain."  The 
real  sequence — that  mountains  deflect  the  cui'rent  of  air 
into  higher  and  colder  strata  of  air  and  that  condensation 
ensues — is  one  the  pupils  are  quite  capable  of  inferring. 


340  THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOORAPHT. 

In  teaching  tlie  rotation  and  revolution  of  the  earth  the 
various  relevant  facts  known  to  the  pupils  should  be 
gathered  together  and  summarised  in  a  convenient  form. 
They  will  know  that  the  length  of  the  day  and  night  varies 
during  the  year,  and  which  is  the  longest  and  which  the 
shortest  day.  Tliey  will  know  the  difference  of  the  seasons. 
Such  facts  clearly  and  briefly  summarised  will  keep  before 
their  minds  the  phenomena  they  have  to  explain.  No 
attempt  should  be  made  to  pursue  a  strictly  inductive 
method.  This  is  out  of  place  with  children  in  so  complex 
a  subject.  It  is  far  better  to  lay  clearly  before  them  the 
main  relations  of  rotation,  incHnation  of  axis,  and  revo- 
lution. There  are  many  opportunities,  however,  when  a 
tactful  teacher  may  call  on  his  pupils  to  suggest  hypotheses, 
and  in  such  cases  they  should  infer  the  consequences  of 
these  suppositions  and  so  expose  their  truth  or  falsity. 

When  the  relations  of  rotation,  inclination  of  axis,  and 
revolution  are  clearly  grasped  the  pupils  should  work  out 
in  detail  their  consequences  in  varying  length  of  day  and 
night  and  in  the  seasons — knowledge  which  can  then  be 
applied  to  securing  a  deeper  grasp  of  the  climatic  con- 
ditions in  various  typical  parts  of  the  globe.  Later  they 
shoiild  pass  on  to  explaining  the  Phases  of  the  Moon 
and  Eclipses,  and  should,  before  leaving  school,  have  a 
clear  general  notion  of  the  Solar  System.  Considerable 
interest  wiU  be  excited  by  pointing  out,  on  some  star- 
light night,  the  most  important  constellations,  giving 
their  names  and  some  interesting  particulars  concerning 
them. 

To  obtain  a  clear  grasp  of  the  relations  between  the 
earth,  sun,  and  moon,  and  to  work  out  one  by  one  the 
consequences  of  these  relations,  a  good  model,  illustrative 
of  the  movements  of  rotation  and  revolution,  is  necessary. 
It  should  be  strongly  and  firmly  made,  simple  in  character, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOaRAPHT.  341 

have  no  complicated  machinery,  and  be  capable  of  being 
handled  and  worked  by  the  pupils  tliemselves.' 

In  studying  mountains  and  rivers  the  pupils  should 
begin  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  earth's  crust,  the 
main  kinds  of  rocks  that  compose  it,  and  the  chief  char- 
acteristics of  those  rocks  as  far  as  they  affect  man.  The 
movements  of  the  earth's  crust,  volcanic  action,  and  the 
formation  of  mountain  chains  should  be  illustrated  by 
diagrams  and  models,  and  by  reference  to  specimens  of 
rocks  and  photographs  and  sketches  of  exposed  strata. 
A  simple  way  of  illustrating  the  movements  of  the  crust 
is  to  take  a  pile  of  papers  differently  coloured  to  represent 
strata,  then  holding  the  ends  fairly  firmly  to  apply  lateral 
pressure.  The  pile  of  stratified  papers  will  crumple  up  in 
a  form  very  analogous  to  the  movements  of  the  earth's 
crust  in  forming  moimtaiu  chains.  The  action  of  frost, 
wind,  rivers,  glaciers,  and  seas  in  moulding  the  surface  of 
the  earth  should  then  be  examined,  and  will  receive  ample 
illustration  as  the  pupils  pass  from  country  to  country. 
Pictures,  photographs,  lantern  slides,  diagrams,  and 
sketches  should  be  used  extensively  in  illustrating  the 
results  of  denudation. 

12.  To  illustrate  the  application  of  the  above  prin- 
D  tail  d  ciples  in  the  choice  and  grouping  of  topics, 

Illustration;  we  propose  considering  how  the  land  and 
Iberian  people  of  the  Iberian  peninsula  might  suit- 

ably be  presented  to  the  pupils. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  general  build  of  Europe 
will  be  known,  and  that  some  progress  will  have  been 
made  in  considering  climate  and  vegetation.     Greece  and 

'  Two  such  pieces  of  apparatus  have  been  designed  by  Messrs. 
Wyles  and  Lang,  and  have  been  used  in  many  schools  with  very 
satisfactory  results.  Tliey  can  be  obtained  from  Messrs.  Arnold,  of 
Leeds. 


342  THE  TEACHINO  OF  GEOGRAPHY. 

Italy  at  least  will  have  been  studied,  and  examples  of 
Mediterranean  climate  and  vegetation  illustrated.  In 
dealing  with  Italy  the  effect  of  the  snow-topped  Alps 
and  of  the  heavy  rains  among  these  mountains  and  the 
Apennines  on  the  delta  and  alluvial  valley  of  the  Po  will 
have  been  examined.  Moreover,  Spain  will  appear 
prominently  in  certain  parts  of  the  course  in  history, 
particularly  in  dealing  with  the  Moorish  invasion,  the 
Spanish  conquests  in  America,  and  the  Peninsula  wars. 
Hence,  topics  with  a  strong  historical  bias  that  bear 
prominently  on  these  periods  can  well  be  left  for  full 
consideration  to  the  lessons  in  history  dealing  with  these 
questions. 

The  position  of  the  Peninsula,  its  comparative  isolation 
from  the  rest  of  Europe,  and  its  compact  shape  will  first 
be  considered  as  fitting  it  to  be  the  home  of  a  single 
nation,  though  other  of  its  features  will  afterwards  be 
found  to  have  an  opposite  tendency.  Its  build,  when 
examined  from  a  model  or  photo-relief  map,  will  be 
seen  to  consist  of  a  large  high  tableland  bordered  and 
intersected  by  ranges  of  mountains,  with  fringing  coast 
plains  of  varying  width  on  the  eastern,  southern,  and 
western  borders,  and  two  broad  depressions  of  the  Ebro 
and  the  Guadalquiver ;  the  one  separating  the  plateau 
from  the  lofty  range  of  the  Pyrenees  on  the  north-east, 
the  other  from  the  high  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  on  the 
south. 

The  solid,  compact  natui-e  of  the  tableland  in  proximity 
to  the  sea  in  many  places  will  explain  the  general  lack 
of  inlets  except  in  the  north-west,  where  the  numerous 
mountain  ridges  abutting  on  the  coast  give  rise  to  the 
'  rias  '  of  Galicia.  Such  a  coast  line  suggests  that  harbours 
will  be  few  and  the  coast  difficult  of  access  ;  consequently, 
that  the  Spaniards  will  show  little  propensity  for  maritime 


THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY.  343 

adventure :  a  conclusion  whicli  the  teacher  will  bear  out 
by  informing  the  pupils  of  the  smallness  of  the  Spanish 
mercantile  marine.  By  studying  a  map  of  the  Peninsula 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  chief  harbours,  especially  on  the 
west  coast,  are  found  at  the  mouths  of  rivers ;  and  refer- 
ence will  be  made  to  Lisbon,  one  of  the  finest  harbours  of 
the  world,  and  Oporto,  the  port  par  excellence  of  the 
Eomans.  That  these  ports  are  in  Portugal  and  that  the 
Portuguese  have  an  inveterate  dislike  to  the  Spaniards, 
point  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Portuguese  will  seek  com- 
mercial intercovn-se  with  other  nationalities  by  sea  and  will 
have  strong  maritime  tendencies.  These  inferences  the 
teacher  will  support  by  references  to  Portuguese  history. 
Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  son  of  John  I.  of  Portugal, 
was  one  of  the  earhest  leaders  of  maritime  discovery.  By 
his  efforts  the  Portuguese  succeeded  in  discovering  the 
Azores  and  the  Madeiras,  and  in  finding  their  way 
round  the  Cape  to  India,  a  beginning  that  culminated  in  a 
vast  colonial  empire  spreading  from  Brazil  to  India.  A 
fitting  comparison  may  be  drawn  in  this  respect  between 
Spain  and  the  Spaniards  and  G-reece  and  the  Greeks. 

Passing  to  the  river  system  the  pupils  wiU  infer,  by 
noting  the  course  of  the  rivers,  that  the  general  fall  of  the 
land  of  the  plateau  is  from  east  to  west.  Thus  most  of 
the  drainage  of  the  plateau  is  westward,  and  the  rivers  of 
the  north  and  east,  where  the  plateau  or  the  fringing  moun- 
tains he  close  to  the  coast,  are  short  and  rapid,  and,  conse- 
quently, of  little  or  no  use  for  navigation.  As  the  plateau  is 
fringed  by  mountain  ranges  the  rivers  have  to  burst  their 
way  through,  and  have  formed  deep,  narrow,  wdnding 
gorges,  two  of  which,  the  passes  of  the  Douro  and  Guadiana, 
provide  the  main  lines  of  communication  between  the  plains 
and  the  tableland  ;  the  tliird,  the  passage  of  the  Tagus,  is 
too  difiicult  to  be  of  much  service. 


344  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

Before  considering  in  full  the  effect  of  the  rivers  in 
aiding  or  hindering  commercial  intercourse  and  political 
unity,  it  will  be  advisable  to  examine  the  climate  of  Spain 
and  its  effects  on  the  land,  since  the  obstacles  of  contour 
are  further  intensified  by  the  results  of  the  climate.  The 
climate,  or  rather  climates,  of  Spain  are  the  direct  result 
of  its  position  and  build.  Lying  practically  in  the  same 
latitude  as  Southern  Italy  and  Greece,  it  possesses  a  much 
drier  and  more  extreme  climate. 

This  conclusion  the  pupils  can  infer  by  applying  their 
knowledge  of  climatic  conditions  to  the  position  and  build 
of  Spain.  The  great  plateau  with  its  fringing  mountains 
is  in  reality  a  great  uplifted  depression  or  saucer,  or  rather 
series  of  saucers,  separated  by  intersecting  ranges.  In 
summer  the  plateau  is  intensely  heated  and  the  air  conse- 
quently rarified ;  hence  the  general  direction  of  the  winds 
will  be  from  the  sea  to  the  interior.  In  winter  the  land  is 
cooled  and  the  air  condensed,  and  the  winds  will  be  from 
the  interior  to  the  sea.  In  summer,  however,  when  the 
winds  are  heavily  charged  with  moisture  from  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Mediterranean,  the  rain  is  deposited  on  the  slopes 
of  the  mountains  fringing  the  plateau,  leaving  the  inner  area 
a  waterless  desert,  whilst  the  slopes  towards  the  seas  are 
well  watered.  In  winter  the  climate  will  be  dry  and  ex- 
tremely cold. 

To  bring  out  in  a  realistic  manner  the  contrasts  between 
the  various  districts  in  Spain,  certain  typical  areas  should 
be  described  in  some  detail  and  illustrated  by  pictures. 
The  pupils  shoidd  imagine  the  arid  plateau,  its  scanty  vege- 
tation mostly  of  esparto  grass,  its  numeri)us  bare  tracts, 
the  scorching  heat  and  glare  of  the  sun,  the  cloudless  sky, 
the  cool  and  sometimes  chilly  evenings,  the  Spanish  houses, 
the  midday  siesta,  the  dry  choking  dust  that  obscures  the 
landscape  in  the  south  and  through  which  the  sun  shines 


THE    TEACHING    OF    OBOOEAPHT.  345 

only  as  a  reddish  disc,  tlie  caravan  of  mules  indicated  in 
the  distance  by  the  gray  cloud  of  dust,  and  in  winter  the 
cold,  dry,  piercing  winds  and  the  snows  of  the  mountain 
passes.  It  will  be  pointed  out  how  this  region  was  not 
always  a  barren  waste.  By  irrigation  and  skilful  cultiva- 
tion tlie  Eomans  made  it  one  of  the  granaries  of  the 
world,  and  tlie  agricultural  genius  of  the  Moors  enriched 
it  still  further.  The  modern  Spaniard,  however,  indo- 
lent, apathetic,  with  rude  antiquated  methods  of  tillage, 
leaves  it  the  desert  waste  it  is  to-day.  The  teacher  should 
explain,  and  illustrate  by  means  of  diagrams,  methods  of 
irrigation  by  which  a  scanty  water  supply  may  be  collected, 
preserved,  and  distributed,  so  that  the  utmost  benefit  is 
derived  from  it. 

In  contrast  with  the  waste  and  arid  plateau  the  more 
flourishing  regions  round  the  coast  should  be  pictured. 

On  the  northern  coast,  owing  to  the  rain-bearing  sea 
winds  depositing  their  moisture  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Cantabrian  mountains,  the  country  wears  a  perennial  gar- 
ment of  green.  The  teacher  should  describe  the  forests  of 
oak,  beech,  and  birch,  the  orchards  of  apples  and  cherries, 
the  groves  of  chestnuts  and  walnuts,  the  fields  of  maize, 
rye,  hemp,  and  flax,  the  green  mountain  glens,  and  the 
rushing  streams. 

In  Valencia  a  different  scene  presents  itself.  The  warm 
climate  and  the  irrigation  works  left  by  the  Moors  have 
made  it  a  veritable  garden.  Oranges,  dates,  figs,  almonds, 
raisins,  olives,  pomegranates,  lemons,  mulberries,  tomatoes, 
and  fields  of  maize,  wheat,  flax,  hemp,  cotton,  and,  near  the 
low-lying  coast,  sugar  are  found.  So  rich  is  the  soil  that 
two  or  three  crops  a  year  can  be  gathered. 

Similarly,  Andalusia,  with  its  varied  wealth  of  products 
— tropical,  sub-tropical,  and  temperate — and  its  fierce  hot 
summer,  should  be  described. 


346  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPnT. 

The  contrasts  may  well  be  brought  out  by  the  teacher 
reading  such  a  passage  as  the  following : — "  If  in  summer 
you  were  to  cross  the  peninsula  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay  to 
the  south  coast  of  Andalusia,  you  would  chnib  up  to  the 
tableland  from  a  region  where  everything  rusts  and  moulds 
from  dampness,  ascending  through  fields  of  maize,  through 
vineyards,  through  orchards  of  apples  and  pears,  through 
groves  of  chestnuts,  forests  of  oaks  and  beeches,  past  green 
meadows  and  brawling  mountain  streams.  Tip  on  the  table- 
land all  is  aridity  and  fierce  sun  heat,  with  no  sign  of  life 
anywhere.  What  little  vegetation  there  is,  is  smothered  with 
dust ;  dust  chokes  the  roads,  the  houses ;  dust  fills  the  air, 
dims  the  brightness  of  the  sun.  "Wide  treeless  plains  separ- 
ated from  one  another  by  bare,  stony  mountains.  But  the 
tableland  crossed,  and  the  blue  waters  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean seen  sparkling  in  the  distance,  you  enter  a  land 
where  the  mountain  brooks  conjure  forth  groves  and 
gardens  of  lovely  fruit,  where  the  golden  orange  gleams 
amongst  its  dark  green  leaves,  and  the  date-palm  lifts  its 
noble  crown  of  foliage  high  above  the  Moorish-looking 
town,  and  close  down  by  the  sea  fields  of  sugar-cane  wave 
gently  in  the  breeze."' 

The  pupils  can  now,  from  their  knowledge  of  the  re- 
sources and  difficulties  of  communication  in  the  Peninsula, 
readily  come  to  several  important  conclusions.  They  will 
see  that  the  rivers,  both  from  the  rocky  nature  of  their 
gorges  and  from  their  scant  supply  of  water,  are  quite 
unserviceable ;  that  the  mountains,  meagre  rainfall,  and 
the  scarcity  of  vegetation  render  political  combination, 
commercial  and  social  intercourse  and  military  campaigns 
very  difiicult ;  that  only  by  energy,  initiative,  skill,  and  per- 
severing enterprise  in  making  roads,  railways,  and  irrigation 

'  Quoted  from  Fischer,  in  Stanford's  Compendium  of  Geography, 
Europe,  Vol.  I.,  p.  281. 


THK  TEACHING  OF  GEOQRAPHT.  347 

works,  and  in  introducing  improved  methods  of  tillage, 
can  the  natural  difficulties  be  overcome  and  the  country  be 
rendered  prosperous.  These  conclusions  should  be  iUua- 
trated  in  a  number  of  ways. 

The  main  facts  of  the  campaigns  of  Napoleon  and  his 
generals  in  Spain  will  exemplify  the  difficulty  with  which 
warfare  in  such  a  country  was  conducted.  The  lack  of 
water  and  vegetable  life  prevented  continued  concentration 
of  troops.  Armies  had  to  be  scattered  over  the  country. 
Their  routes  were  determined  by  the  passes  over  the  moim- 
tains ;  and  the  passes  of  the  Douro  and  the  Guadiana  and 
the  places  that  guard  their  entrance  were  the  continual 
scene  of  Welhngton's  various  marches,  whilst  only  once 
did  he  attempt  the  difficult  passage  of  the  Tagus.  The 
impracticability  of  the  mountain  passes  in  winter,  due  to 
the  wild  snowstorms,  is  well  illustrated  by  the  account  of 
Sir  John  Moore's  retreat  on  Corunna. 

The  nature  of  the  land  and  the  climate  account,  too, 
for  the  tendencies  which  have  always  marked  the  people 
of  the  Peninsula.  The  various  races  have  never  really 
combined  into  one  nation.  In  diiferent  districts  they 
have  different  dialects  and  very  divergent  racial  character 
istics.  Thus,  Spain  is  seen,  not  as  a  united  people  whose 
national  aims  and  aspirations  centre  in  its  capital,  but 
as  a  collection  of  states,  weakened  by  local  jealousies  and 
feuds  and  always  ready  to  rebel  against  the  central 
authority.  With  such  centrifugal  tendencies  it  is  easy 
to  understand  how  conquest  by  the  Moors  was  aided  by 
disunion  between  the  Goths  and  native  races,  and  how  in 
turn  dissensions  among  the  Moors  helped  the  Christian 
power  to  expel  them  from  the  land.  Illustrations  of  these 
tendencies  to  disunion  are  foiuid  throughout  the  whole 
course  of  Spanish  history.  In  the  absence  of  a  real  and 
strong  national  spirit,  to  subdue  and  conquer  the  capita] 


348  THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOaRAPHT. 

city  meant  nothing ;  local  resistance  and  independence 
asserted  themselves  quite  as  strongly  against  an  enemy 
though  he  held  the  reins  of  government.  The  rising 
against  Napoleon  was  not  a  national  movement,  but  a  num- 
ber of  separate  local  movements.  Each  province  acted 
independently.  In  this  respect  Spain  may  very  aptly  be 
compai-ed  with  Greece  and  Italy,  where  similar  tendencies 
were  shown. 

The  difficulties  of  commercial  intercourse  will  explain 
to  some  extent  the  uncommercial  spirit  of  the  Spaniards, 
their  local  independence  and  proud  nature,  the  ignorance 
and  conservatism  of  the  peasant,  the  clumsy  antiquated 
method  of  cidtivation,  and  the  poverty  of  the  country. 

The  pupils  will  now  be  able  to  appreciate  more  fully  the 
characteristics  of  the  Spanish  people.  They  will  see  that 
just  as  the  country  is  full  of  contrasts  so  are  the  people. 
The  teacher  will  describe  in  detail  the  gay,  pleasing, 
courteous,  yet  self-satisfied  Andalusian ;  the  proud,  cere- 
monious, opinionated,  but  indolent  Castilian,  content  to 
while  away  his  life  in  abject  poverty ;  the  more  enterpris- 
ing and  industrious  inhabitants  of  the  north  coast — the 
Gralician,  who  undertakes  all  kind  of  arduous  labour,  the 
Asturian,  who  prefers  domestic  service,  the  Basque,  proud 
as  the  Castihan,  but  devoting  his  energies  to  farming  and 
iTii-al  occupations;  the  revengeful,  suspicious,  and  blood- 
thirsty Catalonian  and  Valencian.  Tliey  will  thus  be 
prepared  to  realise  that  the  dominant  notes  of  a  large 
section  of  the  Spanish  people  are  indolence,  apathy,  and 
self-satisfied  pride. 

These  characteristic  traits  can  be  well  illustrated  by  refer- 
ence to  the  use  the  Spaniards  make  of  their  mineral  and  agri- 
cultural resources.  Their  rich  mines  of  argentiferous  lead, 
copper,  and  iron  have  always  been  exploited  by  foreigners. 
The  Phoenicians,  Romans,  and  Moors  worked  them  in  the 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GEOGRAPHT.  349 

days  of  old.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  the  mines 
were  neglected  until  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the 
industry  has  been  revived  by  French,  German,  and  English 
enterprise.  Spanish  indolence,  ignorance,  and  apathy  in 
agriculture  are  shown  Ijy  contrast  with  the  skill  and  energy 
of  the  Eomans  and  Moors.  The  antiquated  methods  of  culti- 
vation  shoiild  be  described — wooden  ploughs  drawn  by  oxen, 
sickles  to  reap  the  corn,  threshing  under  the  feet  of  horses, 
winnowing  by  the  wind,  and  other  rude  methods  of  tillage.' 

Enough  detail  has,  perhaps,  been  given  to  indicate  how 
the  connection  between  physical  conditions,  the  life  of 
the  people,  and  historical  events  should  be  emphasised 
in  teaching  geography.  Before  the  Peninsula  can  be  left 
there  yet  remain  to  be  taught  the  particulars  of  each  dis- 
trict. The  Pyrenees,  with  its  passes  and  great '  cirques,' 
will  be  pictured,  and  Eoncesvalles  and  the  paladin  Eoland 
mentioned.  Andalusia  and  the  Moorish  cities  of  Cordova, 
Granada,  and  Seville  -nail  be  described,  and  somethino-  of 
the  wonders  of  Moorish  culture  and  industry  presented 
to  the  pupils,  though  fuller  treatment  will  be  left  to  the 
course  in  history. 

As  opportunity  presents  itself  the  history  seen  in  the 
names  of  mountain,  stream,  and  city  will  be  touched  on. 
The  Moorish  '  gebel,'  a  mountain,  and  'guad,'  a  river, 
will  constantly  receive  illustration,  and  Tarifa  and  Gibraltar 
bring  to  remembrance  the  early  Saracen  invaders. 

13.  From  the  account  that  has  been  given  of  the  kind  of 

geography  that  shotdd  be  taught  it  will  be 

Teaching.  obvious   that,  besides   giving   the   pupils    a 

rational    understanding    of    the   lands   and 

peoples  of  the  world,  a  real  and  vivid   picture  of   them 

^  The  disastrous  effects  of  Spanish  indolence  may  be  made  vivid 
to  the  pupils  by  reading  to  them  such  a  passage  as  the  first  two 
paragraphs  of  ]Mr.  Lane  Poole's  Moors  in  Spain. 


350  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

must  be  presented — a  picture  that  stands  before  the 
mind's  eye  in  living  detail.  Indeed,  a  rational  under- 
standing is  only  possible  when  such  an  image  is  created. 
To  present  such  a  picture  the  teacher  needs  a  copious  and 
detailed  knowledge.  This  cannot  be  obtained  from  a  text- 
book, which  confines  itself  to  lists  of  names  and  detached 
statements  of  facts.  To  obtain  the  abundant  and  graphic 
detail  that  is  essential  to  effective  teaching,  books  that 
describe  the  lands  and  peoples  in  warm  and  living  colours 
should  be  studied.  Books  written  by  observant  and  sym- 
pathetic travellers  or  by  those  whom  long  residence  has 
made  intimately  acquainted  with  the  inner  lives  of  the 
people  are  especially  valuable.  Many  extracts  from  such 
books  can  with  advantage  be  read  to  the  class,  and  will 
probably  awaken  an  interest  that  will  lead  the  pupils  to 
seek  further  acquaintance. 

Having   made   himself   thoroughly   at   home   with    his 

_       ...  matter  the  teacher  must  present  it  in  such 

Description.  ,  j^.  ^  ...     .         .       . 

a  way  as  to  arouse  the  pupil  s  imagination. 

Every  means  possible  should  be  used  to  effect  this  end. 
Abstract  statements  of  general  notions  are  never  effective. 
Such  notions  should  be  inferred  from  facts  gathered  from 
the  map  or  from  information  supplied  by  the  teacher  or 
book.  They  are,  however,  only  an  outline  sketch  which, 
as  detail  after  detail  is  added,  slioidd  become  a  vivid  and 
realistic  picture. 

For  example,  to  tell  the  pupils  or  to  lead  them  to  infer 
from  certain  data  that  certain  parts  of  Canada  have  an 
extremely  cold  winter  is  to  state  a  general  fact  which  may 
mean  much  or  little  according  as  they  can  realise  in  imagi- 
nation what  this  means  to  the  Canadians  themselves ;  and 
the  average  English  child  has  very  little  material  from 
which  to  construct  such  a  picture  unaided.  The  teacher 
should,  therefore,  describe  the  St.  Lawrence  frozen  ov^r 


THE    TEACHING    OP    GEOGRAPHY.  351 

with  ice  and  the  railway  laid  across,  the  furs  and  wraps  to 
keep  out  the  keen  wind,  the  sleighing  and  toboganning, 
the  snow-shoes  of  the  hunter.  Then,  if  he  reads  to  them 
such  a  poem  as  The  Famine  from  Longfellow's  Hiawatha, 
their  imagination  and  sympathies  will  be  aroused  in  such 
a  way  that  they  will  feel  as  well  as  know  what  "  an  ex- 
tremely cold  winter  "  means.  Yet,  as  the  pupils  advance, 
inference  from  general  principles  and  fuller  and  deeper 
explanation  should  mark  the  learning  ;  for  it  is  essential 
that  they  should  understand  the  underlying  connections 
between  things. 

Though  graphic  and  detailed,  the  descriptions  should  be 
clear  and  orderly,  or  they  will  only  resvdt  in  a  confused 
blur.  In  describing  a  scene  the  teacher  should  start  from 
an  outline  sketch  of  the  whole  and  fill  it  up  methodically 
by  passing  from  one  point  to  another  in  order  of  impoi-t- 
ance,  dwelling  explicitly  on  the  connections  that  bind 
them  together  into  a  whole.  Many  descriptions,  though 
good  in  the  graphic  and  realistic  nature  of  their  details, 
fail  because  the  teacher,  instead  of  putting  the  pieces 
together  systematically,  jumbles  them  up  in  a  confused 
heap. 

During  the  early  years  the  descriptive  oral  lesson  will 
have  been  the  chief  mode  of  teaching.  Now, 
"^^^^p^"  H^^  however,  that  the  pupils  have  acquired  the  art 
Books.  of  reading  with  ease,  books  should  more  and 

more  become  the  instruments  of  learning.  A 
good  text-book  is  necessary  which  will  give  in  an  orderly 
manner  the  facts  of  geography,  aud  show  by  the  grouping 
the  relations  between  the  facts.  To  supplement  the  text- 
book and  to  give  a  fuller  and  wider  treatment  of  the 
cliief  topics  of  interest  a  reading-book  of  geography  should 
be  used.  This  should  contain  suitable  extracts  from 
such  works  as  have  already  been  recommended  for  the 


352  THE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

teacher's  own  reading.'  The  class  library,  too,  should  con- 
tain a  number  of  good  books  on  geography  and  travel  to 
which  the  pupils  should  be  referred,  and  opportunities 
should  be  given  them  to  study  such  books  in  school  and  to 
make  notes  on  what  they  read. 

Descriptions     should     be    supplemented    by    pictures, 

sketches,  diagrams,  models,  and  specimens. 
SketSS,  etc.    C^eography   cannot    be    taught    successfully 

without  pictui'es.  The  pictures  should 
either  be  presented  as  lantern  slides  or  should  be  large 
enough  to  be  examined  by  the  whole  class.  At  the  same 
time  smaller  pictnres,  such  as  can  be  cut  from  illustrated 
papers,  are  not  to  be  despised.  The  pupils  should  be 
encouraged  to  collect  these  and  bring  them  to  school. 
They  can  examine  them  one  by  one  after  the  lesson  or  in 
their  leisure  time. 

Sketching  on  the  blackboard  is  an  art  which  every  teacher 
should  acquire.  By  placing  rapidly  on  the  board  a  bold, 
striking  outline  he  can  draw  the  pupils'  attention  to  just 
those  essentials  and  details  that  he  wishes  to  emphasise. 
Such  an  outline  sketch  is  frequently  of  more  value 
than  an  elaborate  picture  giving  a  host  of  unessential 
details  that  only  obscure  the  main  point.  It  has  the 
fui'ther  advantage  of  being  sufficiently  simple  to  be  copied 
by  the  pupils  in  their  note-books.  The  same  remarks 
apply  to  diagrams  and  models.  They  should  be  plain  and 
simple  in  structure  so  as  to  represent  clearly  the  ideas  they 
illustrate. 

Specimens  of  products,  of  material  in  various  stages  of 
manufacture,  of  rocks,  and  fossils  are  valuable  means  of 
adding  interest  and  value  to  the  teaching.     They  should 

'  Such  books  as  the  Descriptive  Geographies  from  Orvjinal  Sources 
and  Mun  and  kis  IVork,  publislied  by  Messrs.  A.  and  C  Black,  are 
inteiestmg  and  suitable. 


The    TEACHlNGt    OF    GEO<3tRAPHV.  353 

be  displayed  iu  a  uwseum  iu  some  definite  and  systematic 
order.  Eacli  specimen  should  have  a  label  attached  stating 
what  it  is,  whence  it  comes,  for  what  it  is  used,  and  its 
chief  characteristics.  The  pupils  then  in  their  leisure  time 
can  examine  the  museum  with  profit. 

Maps  hold  an  important  place  in  the  teaching  of  geo- 
graphy. Two  forms  of  maps  should  be  iu 
^^^'  constant    use :     photo-relief    or    orographic 

maps  which,  by  means  of  shading  or  coloiu-ing,  will  indi- 
cate the  contoiu-  of  a  country  and  from  w^hich  the  physical 
featui-es  can  be  studied,  and  sketch-maps  drawn  by  the 
teacher  on  the  blackboard  or  on  black  canvas.  The  latter 
should  be  filled  in  as  the  teaching  progresses,  so  that  they 
will  contain  only  those  features  and  names  which  the 
teacher  wishes  the  pupils  to  memorise.  Each  will  thus  be 
a  summary.  More  than  one  sketch-map  of  a  country  may 
be  required,  as  besides  physical  features  and  towns,  coal 
fields,  industrial  and  agricvdtural  areas  shoTild  be  marked 
by  shading  in  coloured  chalks. 

Each  pupil  should  have  a  blank  map  on  which,  as  the 
lesson  proceeds,  he  should  mark  the  features  and  names 
taught.  Then  at  the  end  of  the  lesson  he  will  have  a 
partial  summary  of  the  matter  taught.  Such  a  map  should 
lie  drawn  in  his  note-l30ok  so  that  it  can  be  preserved  for 
])urposes  of  revision  and  memorising.  An  excellent  way 
of  securing  revision  and  memorising  of  the  main  outlines 
of  the  geography  of  a  country  is  to  require  the  pupils  to 
sketch  boldly  and  (|uickly  from  memory  a  map  of  the 
country,  showing  the  main  features  and  towns,  and  indi- 
cating by  various  devices  the  industrial,  mining,  and 
agricultiu-al  centres.  Such  a  map  di'awn  rapidly,  yet 
acciu-ately  as  to  broad  outline,  is  of  far  greater  value  than 
a  careful  and  neat  coloured  production  over  which  hours  may 
have  been  most  uuprofitably  spent.    Before  asking  the  pupils 

PR.  TC.  •  23 


854  THE    TEACHING    0¥    UEOURAFHI . 

to  draw  such  a  map  I'rom  meiiioiy  the  teacher  should  give 
them  an  opportunity  of  learning  it.  They  should  grasp 
clearly  the  prominent  divisions  and  features  of  the  country 
in  relation  to  each  other.  As  a  rule,  the  river  basins,  with 
the  mountains  arou.nd  them,  are  good  centres  to  start  from . 
For  example,  in  memorising  the  map  of  France,  the  four 
main  river  basins,  with  the  general  direction  and  relative 
position  of  the  rivers,  should  first  be  noted.  Dijon  is  a 
good  centre  on  which  to  fix  the  eye  in  the  comparison.  It 
will  be  seen  that  Havre,  Nantes,  Bordeaux,  Marseilles  are, 
roughly  speaking,  about  equal  distances  from  Dijon ;  that 
the  general  direction  of  three  of  the  rivers  from  this  point 
is  respectively  north-west,  west,  and  south,  and  that  the 
direction  of  the  fourth  -the  Garonne — is  in  the  main  parallel 
to  that  of  the  Seine.  The  rivers  being  thus  located,  the 
positions  of  the  mountains  should  be  grasped  in  connection 
with  them.  The  relative  position  of  these  features  having 
been  fixed  the  pupils  should  study  the  line  of  longitude 
2°E.  By  means  of  this  line  the  positions  of  Dunkirk, 
Calais,  Amiens,  Paris,  Orleans,  Limoges,  Toulouse,  and 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Pyrenees  can  be  remembered. 
Cherbourg,  Nantes,  Bayonne  will  be  seen,  roughly  speaking, 
to  lie  on  another  line  by  which  the  projecting  peninsula  of 
Brittany,  the  '  sleeve '  of  Normandy  and  the  west  coast 
of  France  can  be  marked.  The  coast  line  and  land  frontier 
can  then  be  roughly  sketched  in  bold  outline  only,  so  as 
simply  to  suggest  the  main  contour  of  the  land  and  sea 
frontier.  The  pupils  should  draw  the  map  in  the  order 
outlined  above,  and  endeavour  to  fix  the  main  featiu-es  and 
their  relative  positions  firmly  in  their  minds  by  means  of 
the  devices  suggested.  Certainly  not  longer  than  ten 
minutes  should  be  taken  for  this  sketch.  A  second  draw- 
ing from  memory,  assisted  by  observation  when  memory 
fails,  should  not  occupy  so  long  a  time.     A  third  sketch 


THE    TEACHINr,    OF    aEOtiteAI'HY.  36^) 

entirely  from  lueuioiy  should  (.-ouiplete  tlie  learning  witliin 
half  au  hour.  Such  drawing  is  a  most  valuable  means  of 
memorising  the  main  features  of  a  country. 

Each  pupil  should  have  a  good  atlas,  and  he  taught  how 
to  use  it.  ^  Sometimes  it  is  well  to  make  the  first  lesson  on 
a  coiuitry  the  stiidy  of  the  map,  and  to  discover  what  can 
be  learnt  from  the  map  alone.  Atlases  and  blank  sketch- 
maps  should  always  be  used  when  the  pupils  are  studying 
from  text-books  or  reading-books  in  history  or  geography. 

Finally,  memorising  must  not  be  forgotten.  The  draw- 
ing of  sketch-maps  both  during  and  after 
the  teaching  will  aid  in  this,  yet  there  is 
much  infi)rmation  that  cannot  l>e  summarised  and  learnt 
in  this  way.  Such  information  should  be  retained  by  the 
pupil  in  the  form  of  brief  concise  notes,  yet  full  enough 
to  contain  the  main  ovitline.  At  first  such  a  summary  will 
be  placed  on  the  blackboard  by  the  teacher  as  the  lesson 
progresses.  In  the  later  years  the  pupils  should  be  trained 
to  take  notes  of  their  own  which,  combined  with  the  leading 
headings  placed  on  the  board  by  the  teacher,  will  serve  for 
them  to  make  a  more  complete  outline  smnniary  for  pei-ma- 
nent  retention.  Summaries  of  the  chapters  read  from  the 
reading-books  should  also  be  made.  These  summaries  and 
notes  are  most  conveniently  written  on  pages  facing  the 
sketcli-maps  illustrative  of  the  points  to  which  they  refer. 
All  such  notes  should  be  thoroughly  memorised,  and  the 
pupils  should  not  infreqtiently  be  required  to  write 
essays  or  to  answer  questions  in  writing  on  the  work 
thus  learnt. 

'  Such  atlases  as  the  Model  Atlas  and  the  Elementary  Atlas  of 
Comparative  Geoijraphy,  published  by  Messrs.  Philip,  contain  use- 
ful maps  showing  contour  by  shading  or  colours.  These  may  be 
supplemented  by  orographic  sheet-maps  of  the  most  important 
countries.     (Diagram  Series,  from  one  penny  each.) 


356 


TttE    TEACHING    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 


The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  : — 

On  Historical  Geography  : 
See  the  books  recommended  at  the  cud  uf  the  chapter  ou  Histuiy,  \>.  '275, 

On  the  Subject- Matter  of  Geography  : 
Mackinder    (Editor)  :    Regions   of   the 

World  Series     ...  ...  ...     each     7/6  (Heinemann). 

Archer  :  The    Teaching  of   Geograpliy     3/6  (Black). 
Stanford's  Compendium  of  Geography, 

12  vols.  ...  ...  ...  ...     each  15/-    (Stanford). 

Mill  :  Hints  to  Teachers  and  Students 

on  the  Choice  of  Geographical  Books 

Ward  :  Climate  in  Relation  to  Man   ... 

L'Estrange  :    Teacher's    Handbook    to 

Course  of  Comparative  Geography  ... 

Herbertson  :  Senior  Geography 

Fry  :  Text-Book  of  Geography 

Herbertson  :    Descriptive   Geographies 

from  original  sources,  7  vols.      each 

Reynolds  :  Regional  Geography  Series 

each 
Lyde  :  School  Geography  Series  each 
The  Geographical  Teacher 

(A  magazine  published  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Geogi'apliical  Association,  issued 
three  times  a  year.) 

Herbertson  :  Man  and  His  Work 
Herbertson  :  Outlines  of  Physiography 


3/6  (Longmans). 
6/-    (Murray). 

5/-    (Philip). 

2/6  (Frowde). 

4/6  (Univ.  Tut.  Press). 

2/-  (A.  and  C.  Black). 

2/-  (A.  and  C.  Black). 
I/-  (A.  and  C.  Black). 
5/-  per  annum  (Philip). 


1/6  (A.  and  C.  Black). 
4/6  (E.  Arnold). 


Maps  and  Atlases: 

Debes  :  Neuer  Handatlas 

Muir  :  School  Atlas  of  Modern  History 
Andrews     and     Dickinson  :     Diagram 

Hand  Atlas      

Bartholomew :  Orographical  Maps,  each 
Smith,  Moss,  and  Rankin  :  Geographi- 
cal   Distribution   of    Vegetation    in 
Yorkshire,  Parts  I.  and  II.   ...     each 


30/-    (Leipzig,   Wagner 
and  Debes). 
3/-    (Philip). 

3/-   (Philip). 

1/-    (Bartholomew). 


1/6  (Bartholomew). 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE     TEACHING     OF     NATURAL     HISTORY. 

1.  Nature  Study  is  a  new  name  for  an  old  subject. 
Our  grandfathers  called  it  natural  history ; 
Meaning  of        and    this   subject,   in  their  day,  included  a 
or^^Natural"        knowledge    of    animals,    plants,  and   rocks. 
History.  After  a  time,  the  study  of  rocks  was  dis- 

sociated from  that  of  living  things,  and  our 
fathers  then  studied  geology  or  biology.  The  biologists 
clung  to  the  old  name,  and  still  spoke  of  their  subject  as 
natural  history  and  of  themselves  as  naturalists.  Still 
later  the  process  of  specialisation  was  carried  a  stage 
further,  and  the  study  of  animals  became  distinct  from 
that  of  plants ;  so  that  to-day  there  are  many  zoologists 
and  many  botanists,  but  few  biologists.  The  zoologists  of 
to-day  often  reserve  to  themselves  the  title  of  naturalists, 
even  when  their  study  is  almost  confined  to  a  single 
group  of  animals,  such  as  birds,  or  insects,  or  butter- 
flies and  moths.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  use  the  term 
natural  history  in  its  old-fashioned  sense,  and  the  term 
nature  study  as  synonymous  with  natural  history  as  it 
shorJd  be  taught  in  scliools.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
however,  that  one  aspect  of  the  general  subject  is  treated 
in  the  chapter  on  geography. 

'  By  C.  E.  Moss,  D.Sc,  F.R.G.S. 
357 


358  TnE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HIRTOKT. 

Natural  history,  whichever  of  its  meanings  be  attached 

to  the  term,  is  not  a  subject  Avhich  has  been 
Natural  _  generally    taught   in    the    primary    schools 

School^.  of  this  coimtry ;  consequently  there  exists 

but  little  tradition  as  to  how  the  subject 
should  or  should  not  be  taught.  Not  infrequently,  how- 
ever, enthusiastic  naturalists  who  were  schoolmasters  by 
vocation  introduced  the  subject,  in  a  more  or  less  informal 
manner,  into  their  own  schools.  Such  teachers,  being  full 
of  enthusiasm,  and  ha^•ing  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  did  excellent  work  in  nature  study,  even  before 
the  latter  terra  was  invented.  In  so  far  as  there  is  any 
tradition  at  all  with  regard  to  nature  study,  that  is,  natural 
history  as  a  school  subject,  the  tradition  is  due  to  these 
schoolmaster  naturalists,  who  regarded  the  subject  as 
largely  an  out-of-door  subject  concerned  with  the  common 
objects  of  the  country  side,  and  this  tradition  is  worthy  of 
all  respect. 

Object    lessons,    however,   have    long    been    given    in 

many  primary  schools.  In  1899,  when  such 
Nature  Study  lessons  were  regarded  as  one  of  the  '  class 
Lessons'.^^  subjects,'  95  per  cent,  of  the  schools  which 

took  class  subjects  presented  object  lessons. 
It  has  been  usual  to  include  in  the  lists  of  such  lessons 
some  whose  titles  at  least  had  relation  to  natural  history. 
Only  when  object  lessons  deal  with  common  natural 
objects,  and  when  the  lessons  are  illustrated  by  the  actual 
objects  themselves,  may  the  subject  be  regarded  as  having 
any  definite  relation  to  nature  study.  Object  lessons  in 
the  past  have  been  of  Uttle  worth  as  instruments  of 
education  through  the  neglect  of  these  two  principles. 
Instead  of  lessons  on  blackbirds  and  bluebells,  attempts 
were  made  to  give  lessons  on  the  giraffe  and  the  sago- 
palm  ;  and  though  the  lessons  were  described  as  object 


THE    TEACHINC    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  359 

lessons,  they  were  frequently  given  without  ilhistrative 
objects,  and  Ihiis  were  not,  in  any  real  sense,  object  lessons 
at  all,  for  neither  diagrams  nor  models  are  effective  as 
substitutes  for  the  actual  objects. 

The  above  weaknesses  of  object  lessons  are  to  some 
extent  remediable,  but  there  is  another 
Inherent  weakness  which  is  inherent.     Object  lessons 

Object  Lessons,  ^i'©'  of  necessity,  more  or  less  disconnected, 
one  with  another.  This  is  palpably  the  case 
in  the  lists  of  subjects  of  object  lessons  which  are  found 
in  most  schools,  where  a  lesson  on  india-rubber  may 
be  preceded  by  one  on  a  glacier  and  succeeded  by  one  on 
coal.  It  is  to  some  extent  the  ease  in  any  list  of  object 
lessons  which  may  be  drawn  up.  Lessons  on  objects 
merely  can  scarcely  be  other  than  detached  one  from 
another,  can  scarcely  be  framed  on  general  principles,  and, 
therefore,  can  scarcely  ever  lead  to  any  definite  result.  By 
their  nature,  they  degenerate  into  lessons  in  which  the 
teacher  imparts  miscellaneous  items  of  general  informa- 
tion, which  the  children  are  expected  to  remember. 
Consequently  the  lessons  are  often  tedious,  formal,  and 
dull :  interest  is  rarely  aroused  ;  and  there  is  little  or  no 
call  on  the  pupils'  powers  of  observation  and  construction. 

In  nature  lessons,  the  objects  to  be  studied  are  such  as 
come  under  the  frequent  observation  of  the 
Subject  Matter  p^ipils.  Common  plants,  common  birds, 
Study.  common  insects,  provide  excellent  material 

for  classes  engaged  in  nature  study.  The 
pupils  should,  for  example,  be  taught  how  to  identify,  at 
any  season  of  the  year,  the  common  trees  of  the  district. 
This  entails  a  knowledge  of  their  bark,  twigs,  buds,  leaves, 
flowers,  fruits,  seeds,  and  seedlings.  The  common  song 
birds  should  be  known  not  only  by  their  songs  and 
j)lumage,  but  to  some  extent  by  their  methods  of  flight — 


360  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

whether  iiudulatiug  or  direct,  aud  by  their  motion  when 
on  the  ground — whether  they  hop  or  walk.  A  few  winter 
migrants  should  be  known,  more  summer  migrants,  and  a 
still  greater  number  of  the  liirds  which  are  resident  in  the 
district  all  the  year  round. 

The  commonest  butterflies  should  be  studied.  They 
should  be  known  by  their  colours  and  to  some  extent  by 
their  positions  when  at  rest.  The  time  of  their  first 
appearance  during  the  year  shouhl  be  noted,  whether  or 
not  they  disappear  long  before  the  summer  is  over,  and,  if 
so,  whether  they  reappear  during  the  autumn.  The  pupils 
should  find  out  on  which  plants  the  eggs  are  laid,  and  on 
which  the  caterpillars  feed.  Then  the  rest  of  their  life 
histories  may  be  followed  indoors.  The  habitats  of  the 
common  flowers  should  be  discovered,  and  eventually  the 
pupils  should  be  able  to  predict  whether  a  given  district 
is  a  likely  one  for,  say,  bluebells,  cowslips,  foxgloves,  or 
heather.  The  facts  and  principles  governing  the  respira- 
tion and  the  food  of  plants  and  animals  may  be  studied 
even  in  the  lower  years  ;  and  in  the  intermediate  and  upper 
years  the  elements  generally  of  the  physiology  of  plants 
and   animals    should   furnish   material   for   experimental 

work. 

Nature  study  is  neither  botany,  nor  zoology,  nor  geology, 

nor  any  branch  of  these  sciences,  nor  any 

The  Scope  of     p^^ggiijie    combination  of   them,   though  its 
Nature  Study.    ^   ,  .     ,         ,,       .     ,         ,      ,,  i  •     .         +, 

subject-matter  is  largely  the  subject-matter 

of  these  sciences.     It  is  scarcely  possible,  and  it  is  certainly 

not  desirable,  to  fix  the  precise  limits  of  what  is  included 

under  the  term  *  Nature  Study.'     In  its  widest  sense,  it  is 

the  attempt  to  find  out  for  oneself  all  that  one  can  about 

common  natural  objects  and  common  natural  phenomena. 

It  therefore  concerns  itself  with  the  simple  facts  of  zoology, 

botany,  and  physical  geography,  though  the  formal  study 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  361 

of  tliese  sciences  is  heyoud  its  range.  The  purely  technical 
terms  may,  and  should,  usually  be  avoided  and  ignored. 
A  course  of  lessons  in  nature  study  is  not  to  be  found  in  a 
list  of  miscellaneous  subjects,  but  should  consist  in  the 
statement  of  a  few  simple  problems.  The  actual  lessons 
should  be  concerned  with  finding  the  solutions  of  these 
problems.  It  is  right  that  individual  teachers  with 
preferences  for  particular  aspects  of  nature  study  should 
give  prominence  to  their  favourite  points  of  view ;  but  in 
all  cases  the  lessons  should  cover  a  wide  field,  and  should 
at  least  include  lessons  on  flowers,  seeds,  insects,  and 
birds. 

2.  Nature  study  brings  the  child  into  his  right  relation 

„  ..  ,  with  the  obiective  world  which  surrounds 
Functions  of      ,  .  -^     .     •" 

Nature  Study  ^i"''-  -L*  increases  his  powers  of  perception 
—a  Right  and  expression.     It  develops  his   activities. 

Natural" World.  ^^  trains  his  mind.  It  teaches  him  ulti- 
mately liis  own  place  in  the  scheme  of 
nature.  It  widens  his  outlook  on  things,  and  enables  him 
to  live  a  fuller  and  a  brighter  life.  It  enables  him  to  see 
things  as  they  really  are,  and  to  comprehend  their  true 
significance.  It  kindles  or  stimulates  a  desire  to  know 
more  of  what  he  sees,  and  culminates  in  a  keen  interest  in 
all  natural  objects  and  phenomena.  The  seeing  eve,  the 
hearing  ear,  and  the  understanding  heart  are  rare  posses- 
sions. It  is  the  chief  object  of  nature  study  to  train 
children  in  such  a  way  that  they  will  become  possessed  of 
these  gifts  and  retain  them  through  life. 

Nature   study   is   not   successful  unless  it  arouses    an 

interest  in,  and  so  leads  to  a  knowledge  of. 

Country.    ^       the  Country  side.    The  feelings  of  Avonder  and 

delight  which  an  ordinary  man  experiences 

wlien  he  takes  a  country  ramble  in  company  with  a  true 

naturahst — one  who  studies  things,  not  merely  tke  names 


362  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

of  things — is  a  measure  of  the  gain  to  be  expected  from  the 
study  of  nature,  and  a  measure  of  the  loss  at  present 
sustained  through  its  neglect.  Children  in  rural  districts, 
when  they  leave  school,  should  be  in  sympathy  with  their 
surroundings,  and  should  be  willing  to  take  an  intelligent 
interest  in  rural  pursuits.  Suburban  and  town  children 
also  should  have  developed  such  an  interest  in  nature  that, 
though  their  vocations  may  compel  them  to  spend  much 
of  their  time  amid  the  turmoil  of  city  life,  they  will  yet 
visit  the  streams  and  woods  and  hills  of  the  country  as 
often  as  their  circumstances  permit.  Nature  study  is  a 
strong  and  a  safe  antidote  against  the  shallowness  and 
the  sensationalism  of  modern  city  life. 

Nature  study  lends  itself  to  the  inculcation  of  scientific 
method  by  the  exact  observation,  description, 

A  Foundation  ^^^^  comparison  of  easily  ascertained  facts, 
lor  oci6iiC6  J-  »/  J 

Teaching.  ^^^  ^J  the  solution  of  simple  problems  sug- 

gested by  those  facts.  It  is  not  the  study 
of  any  of  the  specific  sciences,  yet  it  provides  a  sure 
foimdation  for  such  subjects  should  they  be  studied  in 
later  years.  Many  of  the  best  teachers  of  science  have 
now  formed  the  opinion  that  the  teaching  of  specific 
sciences  to  children  of  less  than  fifteen  years  of  age  is, 
and  must  be,  a  failure,  that  the  huge  amounts  of  money 
which  have  in  recent  years  been  spent  on  laboratories, 
equipment,  and  salaries  for  this  branch  of  teaching  have 
been  a  waste  of  public  funds,  and  that  all  such  teaching 
should  be  replaced  by  some  form  of  nature  work.  Tlie 
development  of  habits  of  observation,  description,  and 
carefully  guarded  inference  by  nature  work  fits  a 
youth  for  a  sound  course  of  instruction  in  the  specific 
sciences  far  better  than  the  committing  to  memoiy  of 
ill  digested  facts  and  theories  of  botany,  physics,  or 
chemistrv. 


THE    TEAHHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  363 

Not   only   is   nature   study   of   direct   benelit  to   those 

*     A  .,  X  cliildren   who   will   later   iu    life  study    the 

All  Aid  to  •  -J.   ■       1  • 

Literature.         sciences,  it  is  also  a  necessity  for  a   greater 

number    who   will   have   neither   the  desire 

nor  the  opportunity  to  become  students  of  these  subjects. 

The  literature  of  a  country  can  never  be  fully  appreciated 

by  those  who  are  ignorant  of  nature,  her  ways,  and  her 

moods.     Almost  all  our  great  writers,  whether  of  prose  or 

of  poetry,  have  been  students  of  nature :  a  few,  who  have 

not  been  such,  have  pretended  to  be :  none  has  contemned 

nature.     It  is  surely  as  important  for  British  students  to 

appreciate  the  references  of  these  writers  to  the  country 

side  of  their  own  land  as  to  understand  their  allusions 

to  Grreek  mythology. 

It  has  been  held  that  nature  study  has  a  moral  aspect, 
Ethical  Value.  ^^'^  ^^^®  teacher  should  constantly  have  this 
point  of  view  in  his  mind.  It  is,  however, 
unwise  to  put  this  aspect  before  young  pupils.  Long  years 
of  communion  mth  nature  may  develop  a  Wordsworth  or 
a  Eichard  Jeffries,  but  it  may  be  questioned  whether  this 
desirable  consummation  is  to  be  reached  by  sermons,  even 
when  they  are  disguised  in  stones  or  flowers  or  birds. 
The  teacher  will  have  no  lack  of  opportunities  for  arousing 
iu  his  pupils  a  love  of  natm-e.  He  will  not  need  to  seek 
occasions  for  inculcating  such  desirable  virtues  as  kindness 
to  animals.  Good  intentions  on  the  teacher's  part  to  incul- 
cate moral  instruction  through  nature  study  should  always 
be  subconscious  in  his  mind,  b.ut  they  need  be  but  rarelv 
expressed.  Above  all,  any  affectation  on  the  matter  should 
be  suppressed,  both  by  teacher  and  pupil.  A  healthy  love 
of  nature  is  never  obtrusive.  Advertisement  in  this  regard 
savours  of  hypocrisy,  and  at  best  will  only  form  the  prig. 

3.  The   method   of   teaching   should    be   observational, 
descriptive,    comparative,    and    experimental;     and   easy 


364  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

inferences  and  simple  general  conclusions  should  be  drawn 

from  the  observations  and  experiments.    The 
General  Method    i  .•  i         •   j.- 

of  Teaching  observations,  descriptions,  comparisons,  expe- 
riments, and  deductions  should  be  made  by 
the  pupils  themselves.  The  teacher  should  only  guide  the 
efforts  of  his  pupils:  he  should,  as  a  rule,  neither  supply 
the  information  nor  perforin  the  experiments.  An  infor- 
mation lesson  is  not  a  nature  lesson.  In  the  former  the 
teacher  does  the  bulk  of  the  w^ork  :  in  the  latter  the  work 
is  performed  liy  the  pupils,  who  act  under  the  teacher's 
directions.  In  a  good  nature  lesson  each  pupil  handles 
objects,  examines  them,  draws  them,  performs  experiments 
with  them,  and  finds  out  something  about  them.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  this  method  of  teaching  the 
subject  is  easily  practicable  in  rural  and  suburban  schools, 
provided  only  that  the  teacher  is  in  sympathy  with  the 
purpose  of  nature  study. 

Nature  study  makes  school  life  more  palatable  to  child- 
ren. It  is  found  by  experience  that  while 
Time  Table  ^®^  classes  are  ever  roused  to  enthusiasm  by 
grinding  at  the  English  system  of  weights 
and  measures  or  at  the  intricacies  of  English  spelling, 
practically  all  classes  who  do  nature  work  exhibit  great 
interest  in  it  and  display  a  great  fondness  for  it.  Nature 
lessons,  especially  at  first,  should  be  of  a  simple  character, 
and  of  short  duration.  They  may  very  fittingly  be  given 
towards  the  end  of  the  day,  when  the  pupils  have  become 
languid  and  listless.  The  children  are  easily  aroused  to 
brightness  during  a  nature  lesson  ;  and  a  judicious  use  of 
this  fact  makes  nature  study  of  indirect  benefit  to  the 
more  formal  studies.  About  two  to  three  hours  a  week 
should  be  devoted  to  the  subject,  and  this  time  should 
be  so  spaced  a?  to  allow  of  three  or  four  lessons  each 
week. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NATURAL  HISTOEY.       365 

Schools  iu  the  heart  of  hu'^'e  cities  have  special  diffi- 
culties to  contend,  with,  which  can  only  be 
Large  Cities.  iippi'eciated  fully  by  those  who  have  actual 
knowledge  of  the  working  of  such  schools. 
It  will  probably  be  found,  in  actual  practice,  that  a  more 
extended  course  of  instruction  iu  handicraft  and  physical 
measurements,  and  an  elementary  course  of  study  in 
practical  mechanics,  should  be  largely  substituted  for  the 
course  in  nature  study,  though  it  is  undesirable  that  city 
chilcU-en  should  grow  up  totally  ignorant  of  the  beauties  of 
the  country  side.  We  are  acquainted  with  slum  schools 
where  nature  study  is  taken,  though  the  difficulties  are 
almost  insuperable.  Shop  flowers  and  smoky  parks  have 
to  be  substituted  for  the  flowers  and  trees  of  the  hedgerows 
and  woods.  There  is  an  excellent  scheme  in  Manchester 
whereby  the  children  of  city  schools  are  taken  to  a 
special  school  in  the  heart  of  Cheshire,  where  such  children 
may  continue  their  regular  school  instruction,  and  also,  for 
the  short  space  of  two  weeks,  breathe  pure  air,  p)hick 
beaulii'ld  Howers,  and  observe  nature  in  her  true  garb.^ 
In  some  cases,  it  has  been  found  possible  to  meet  the  small 
expense  involved  in  taking  the  children  occasionally  by 
train  or  tram  to  the  outskirts  of  the  town  where  they  are 
V.  ithin  reach  of  the  country  side. 

4.  It   is    one    of    the    most    melancholy    things    in    the 

teaching  profession  to  find  a  teacher  taking 

Training  of        nature  study  in  a  school  or  class  when  he  is 

Nature  Sbudy.     hopelessly  ignorant  of  the  subject.     The  case 

is  sometimes  made  still  more  pitiable  bv  the 

teacher's    pretence    of    taking    an    interest    in    the   work 

because,  as  the  sul:)ject  has  become  somewhat  of  a  fad  in 

certain   quarters,  he   thinks    it   pays   to   do    so.     It  can 

scarcely  be  expected  that,  as  a  rule,  teachers  will  be  able 

'  I'oi-  details  of  this  scheme  see  School,  October,  190-4. 


366  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATOEAL    HISTORT. 

to   conduct   a   class   in   nature  study  successfully    unless 

they  liave  had  some  training  in  the  work. 
Training.  ^^  ^^  ^^'^®  ^^^^   some   educational   thinkers 

have  held  that  training  in  this  work  is  not 
essential  to  a  teacher  who  begins  such  work  with  his 
pupils,  provided  that  he  possesses  a  love  of  nature,  a 
habit  of  close  observation,  and  a  desire  to  learn  with  his 
pupils.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  virged  that  this  love  of 
nature,  this  habit  of  close  observation,  and  this  Avillingness 
to  learn  with  pupils  are  qualities  the  possession  of  which 
is  not  usual  among  mankind,  and  that  their  posses- 
sion in  any  one  does  imply  some  previous  self-training  at 
the  least.  Without  some  special  effort  to  develop  these 
qualities,  they  are  likely  to  remain  dormant  in  ordinary 
mortals.  If  a  teacher  possess  these  qualities,  together 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  the  subject,  then  indeed 
is  he  an  ideal  teacher  in  nature  study. 

As  time  goes  on,  nature  study  will  be  included  in  the 

curriculum  of  most  or  all  schools.  At 
PupU  Teachers.  Pi"^^*^®"^'  however,  it  is  so  rarely  taken  that 

it  is  safest  to  assume  that  when  yovmg 
people  enter  on  their  bursar  or  pupil-teacher  course  they 
know  nothing  about  it.  Hence,  some  instruction  in  the 
subject  should  be  included  in  all  schools  or  colleges  which 
are  concerned  with  the  education  of  pupil  teachers. 
This  is  the  case  in  many  such  institutions  at  the  present 
time,  and  the  subjects— under  the  too  ambitious  name  of 
biology — may  be  taken  in  the  examination  which  concludes 
the  apprenticeship  of  pupil  teachers.  As,  however,  the 
subject  is  only  an  optional  branch  of  an  optional 
subject,  there  is  no  certainty  tiiat  any  pupil  teacher 
at  the  end  of  his  apprenticeship  knows  anything  what- 
ever about  the  subject.  Nature  study  ought  to  be 
taken  as    una  of  the  subjects  in   every   secondary  school, 


THE    TEACtilfJG    OP    iJATURAt    TllSTORr.  36? 

and  especially  in  tLose  schools  and  centres  which  receive 
bursars  and  pupil  teachers. 

Thei-e  is,  thus,  no  certainty  that  a  student  entering  a 
In  Training  ^'"^''^''^S  college  knows  anything  whate°ver 
Colleges.  about  natural  history,  and,   as  a  matter  of 

fact,  the  majority  of  such  students  never  have 
studied  the  subject.  It  is  also  to  be  feared  that  this 
statement  applies  to  the  staff.  There  is,  thus,  no  guarantee 
that  a  trained  and  certificated  teacher  knows  anything 
about  nature  study.  Tliis  undesirable  state  of  things 
cannot  be  remedied  until  the  subject  is  well  taught  by 
competent  teachers  in  all  training  colleges  to  those 
students  who  wish  to  become  proficient  in  it.  When  this 
is  done,  there  will  thus  be  secured  a  body  of  efficient 
teachers  who  will  be  able  to  take  charge  of  the  subject  in 
the  schools  to  which  they  may  be  appointed.  And  as  the 
study  is  effective  only  when  it  is  led  by  one  with  a  real 
love  of  nature,  it  wiU  always  be  best  to  place  the  subject 
in  the  hands  of  teachers  specially  qualified. 

Many   local    authorities    m   rural   districts   have    done 
something    to    help    adult    teachers    to    fit 
Edult        '  ^^^"^'^l^^^    ^«    teach    natural    history     by 
Teachers.  establishing  classes  in  the  subject  conducted 

by  well  qualified  persons;  and  in  large 
towns  and  cities  it  is  not  difficult  for  teachers  to  attend 
evening  classes  in  natural  history,  or  in  botany,  zoology, 
and  physiology,  in  which  they  may  learn  the  necessary 
facts.  The  instruction  given  to  adult  teachers  should  in 
all  cases  be  of  a  more  advanced  character  than  that  given 
in  schools,  and  should  include  a  com-se  in  the  elementary 
principles  of  biology,  in  addition  to  a  moderately  detailed 
study  of  common  animals  and  plants.  The  work  should 
not  be  merely  ohscr^-atioual  :  it  must  also  be  largely 
experimental. 


368  THE    tfiACHINO    OF    NATURAL    HISTORt. 

Whilst,  however,  the  chief  facts  aud  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  nature  study  may  be  acquired  in 

Country  ^-^    ways  above  indicated,  yet  that  love  of  the 

Excursions.  -^  i  •  ,      i       i  n    ,  •     • 

country  side  which  should  be  characteristic 

of  all  teachers  of  nature,  and  which  should  be  implanted  in 
all  students  of  nature,  cannot  be  acquired  in  the  class-room 
or  laboratory.  This  I'ight  relation  to  the  outside  world 
can  only  come  from  actual  contact  with  nature  herself. 
Frequent  excursions  into  the  country  must  be  taken,  and 
the  features  and  phenomena  of  nature  closely  observed. 
Much  may  be  done  in  this  direction  by  anyone  on  his  own 
behalf,  though  many  people  require  the  stimulus  of  com- 
pany. If  a  teacher  can  accompany  a  good  naturalist  on 
his  excursions,  he  will  do  well  to  avail  himself  of  all 
opportunities  of  doing  so. 

Some   natural   history  societies  now   invite  the   active 

co-operation  of  teachers  of  natural  history. 
Natural  ^nd  they  would  be  wise  to  join  such  societies. 

Societies.  Some  societies  are  perhaps  not  worth  joining; 

but  those  whose  members  make  frequent 
journeys  into  the  country,  whose  annual  fees  and  excur- 
sion expenses  are  low,  and  whose  active  workers  include 
people  well  versed  in  important  branches  of  natural 
history,  may  render,  and  in  many  cases  are  now  rendering, 
excellent  aid  to  teachers  which  the  latter  Avill  seek  else- 
where in  vain. 

In   most    subjects  much   inspiration  may  be  obtained 

from  books.  This  is  less  true  of  nature 
litilokr         ^*^^*^V  t^if^ii  of  other  subjects.     Tlie  teacher 

of  nature  must  find  his  subject-matter  and 
his  inspiration  in  nature  herself.  At  the  same  time,  there 
are  a  few — a  very  few — books  which  have  been  written 
about  nature  which  will  be  of  help  to  the  teacher  if  properly 
used.     The  book  on  nature  study  or  natural  history  which 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY,  369 

is  of  real  service  to  its  readers  is  one  wliich  gives  au 
account  of  the  author's  own  observations,  his  own  experi- 
ments, and  his  own  deductions,  and  which  inspires  its 
readers  ultimately  to  make  other  observations,  experiments, 
and  deductions  for  themselves. 

Manj  teachers  desire  a  book  with  ready  made  lessons 
written  out  for  them,  with  the  facts  of  each  lesson  arranged 
under  suitable  headings,  and  with  suggestions  as  to  how 
these  facts  may  be  imparted.  There  is  not,  and  never  can 
be,  any  book  written  on  such  lines  that  is  worth  reading, 
and  no  efficient  teacher  will  ever  seek  or  use  such  a  book. 
There  are,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  many  such  books  published, 
and  extensively  advertised  in  school  journals.  Their  great 
sale  is  some  proof  that  many  teachers  have  not  yet  realised 
the  meaning  of  the  term  '  nature  study,'  and  a  perusal  of 
the  books  themselves  is  proof  that  the  authors  are  in  no 
better  plight.  Iii  some  such  books,  even  the  elementary 
facts  are  sometimes  incorrect.  In  more  than  one  of  them 
it  is  still  asserted  that  plants  breathe  only  during  the 
night !  One  book,  issued  with  the  approval  of  a  highly 
placed  official  and  provided  gratis  to  teachers  by  many 
local  authorities,  assei-ts  that  the  sap  of  plants  ascends  to 
the  leaves  through  the  pith  ! 

It  is  unfortunately  impossible  to  pi-int  a  list  of  books  on 
nature  study  or  object  lessons  which  teachers  would  do 
well  to  avoid ;  but  a  list  of  books  which  should  be  of  help 
to  teachers  of  natural  liistory  is  given  at  the  end  of  the 
chapter.  The  list  is  not  exhaustive,  only  those  being 
mentioned  with  which  we  are  personally  familiar;  but 
good  books  on  nature  study  are  distinctly  uncommon. 
Some  books,  excellent  in  most  respects,  are  partial  failm-es 
because  their  authors  do  not  understand  the  limitations 
either  of  the  average  schoolmaster  or  of  the  average  school 
child,  and  contain  instructions  which  would  be  excellent  if 
PR.  TG.  34 


370  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORT. 

they  were  intended  for  university  students,  but  which  are 
ludicrous  if  intended  even  for  the  oldest  jnipils  of  a 
primary  school. 

6.  If  nature  study  is  to  be  profitable,  out-door  work  is 
not  merely  highly  desirable :  it  is  absolutely 
Aids  to  the       essential.     Class  excursions  should  be  under- 
Natural  taken  as   often   as    is    practicable.      There 

History—  should  be  at  the  least  four  excursions  each 

the  Nature  ... 

Excursion.         J^^^ — *^^®  ^^  spring,  one  m  summer,  one  in 
autumn,   and   one    in    winter.      The    same 
e-round    should   be   traversed  on  each  of   these  four  ex- 

a 

cursions,  and  the  varying  aspects  of  nature  noted.  If 
more  than  four  excursions  are  undertaken,  other  routes 
may  be  chosen.  The  ground  to  be  traversed  should  be 
carefTilly  chosen.  It  should  not  be  of  great  extent,  but 
it  should,  if  possible,  be  of  varied  character.  Too  many 
children  should  not  be  present  on  an  excursion.  If  only 
one  teacher  is  present,  about  twenty  children  may  accom- 
pany him.  If  two  teachers  are  present,  the  number 
may  be  increased  to  about  thirty.  It  is  doubtful  if  the 
nature  excursion  can  be  rendered  profitable  if  more  than 
thirty-five  children  form  the  party.  Each  pupil  should 
take  with  him  on  the  excursion  a  pocket  book,  a  pencil,  a 
penknife,  and,  if  possible,  a  pocket  lens.  At  certain  places, 
the  teacher  should  gather  his  pupils  around  him,  and 
ascertain  that  the  right  things  are  being  studied.  At  such 
times,  entries  and  sketches  may  conveniently  be  made  in 
the  note-book.  A  few  boxes,  tins,  and  bottles,  for  the 
proper  carrying  of  specimens,  should  also  be  taken. 

Each  excursion  should  have  some  definite  object,  which 
should,  in  a  general  way,  be  made  clear  to  the  class  before 
the  commencement;  otherwise,  so  m\ich  is  there  to  see  out 
of  doors,  attention  will  be  too  diffused  and  distracted 
to  be  useful.      It  rests  with  the  teacher  to  make  quite 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  371 

certain  that  each  member  of  the  class  is  fully  occupied 
during  tlie  excursion,  or  valuable  time  will  be  wasted  in 
profitless  chatter.  The  teacher  should  go  over  the  ground 
beforehand,  and  have  his  mind  made  up  as  to  the  par- 
ticular things  to  which  attention  is  chiefly  to  be  di-awn. 

But  the  excursion  must  not  become  too  stereotyped, 
and  actual  and  original  observations  by  the  children 
must  receive  recognition.  The  pupils  must  be  taught 
to  see  things  for  themselves  and  by  themselves;  and 
this  power  is  one  that  is  of  rare  occurrence  in  both 
children  and  adults,  and  one  most  difficult  to  develop. 
Any  average  individual  can  see  what  he  is  told  to  see, 
or  easily  persuade  himself  that  he  sees  it ;  but  the 
natui'e  excursion  to  a  great  extent  fails  of  its  purpose 
if  it  does  not  develop  in  the  pupils  the  power  of 
making  original  observations.  A  too  rigid  adherence  to 
an  excursion  programme  tends  to  check  these  original 
observations ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  an  excursion 
without  a  definite  object  in  view  tends  to  become  dis- 
cursive and  unprofitable.  It  is  equally  a  mistake  to  set 
out  on  an  exciirsion  with  no  definite  aim  in  mind,  and  to 
give  to  each  pupil  written  or  printed  instructions  telling 
him  what  objects  to  look  for  and  where  they  may  be 
found.  Between  these  two  extremes  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
teacher  of  nature  study  to  find  some  happy  mean. 

The  determination  of  common  trees  by  their  buds  and 

bark   furnishes   an  excellent    object    for   a 
A  Model  .  •        •  •    i  1  • 

Excursion  nature  excursion  m  wmter  or  early  sprmg 

for  pupils  of  about  ten  years  of  age.     The 

pupils  should  be  asked  to  find  some  trees  with  rough  bark, 

and  some  trees  with  smooth  bark.     This  done,  they  should 

be  sent  to  re-visit  the  same  trees,  and  to  notice  the  kinds 

of  buds  found  on  the  trees  with  smooth  bark  and  on  those 

with  rough  bark  respectively      Of  the  smooth-barked  trees 


372  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

some  will  be  found  to  have  long  and  pointed  buds,  brown 
in  colour,  and  others  to  have  stout  buds,  green  in  colour. 
The  buds  on  the  former  are  arranged  alternately  one  on 
each  side  of  the  youug  t-nngs,  whilst  on  the  latter  the  buds 
are  arranged  in  opposite  pairs,  each  pair  at  right  angles  to 
the  pair  above  and  below  it.  The  former  tree  the  pupils 
should  be  told  is  the  beech,  the  latter  the  sycamore. 

Of  the  rough-barked  trees  some  have  black  buds 
arranged  like  those  of  the  sycamore :  these  are  ash  trees. 
Others  have  brown  buds,  and  these  need  discriminatingr. 
The  pupils  should  be  asked  to  try  to  place  them  in  two 
groups,  classifying  them  by  the  arrangement  of  the  buds 
on  the  yoimg  twigs.  They  may  need  some  guidance  at 
this  stage.  This  done,  the  arrangement  of  the  buds  of 
the  two  kinds  should  be  described  by  the  children.  Those 
twigs  with  brown  buds,  from  the  rough-barked  trees, 
whose  buds  are  arranged  spirally  all  round  are  specimens 
of  oak,  and  those  whose  buds  are  arranged  alternately 
on  two  sides  (like  the  buds  of  the  beech)  are  si^ecimens 
of  elm.  Finally,  the  trees  from  which  the  specimens  have 
been  taken  should  be  observed  as  wholes,  and  their  mode 
of  branching,  general  size  and  form  uotc<l. 

Other  trees  will  probably  be  met  with  on  the  excursion, 
and  perhaps  some  of  those  mentioned  above 
The  District  will  not  be  seen.  It  depends  on  the  teacher 
P^j  "     to  make  the  most  of  the  possibiHties  of  the 

ground  traversed.  If  lime  trees  are  met 
with,  they  may  be  identified  by  the  smooth  bark  and  brown 
buds  arranged  alternately.  If  birches  occur,  they  will  be 
easily  noted  by  their  characteristic  bark — brown  and  white, 
flakey  and  polished — and  by  the  delicate  tracery  their  buds 
make  against  the  sky.  Questions  will  probably  be  asked 
about  the  unopened  catkins  of  the  birch.  If  ripe  catkins 
of  the  hazel  are  found  near  at  hand,  there  will  be  httle 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  373 

difficulty  in  answering  the  questions  at  once  ;  but  if  not, 
the  answer  had  better  be  postponed  until  the  birch  catkins 
are  ripe,  and  the  pupil  who  has  asked  the  question  should 
be  deputed  to  bring  some  such  specimen  to  the  class  in 
April  or  May. 

In  many  districts  firs,  pines,  and  larches  are  abundant, 
and  will  demand  attention  on  the  excursion.  The  leaves 
of  the  pine  and  the  fir  are  evergreen,  while  the  larch  is 
deciduous.  Those  of  the  pine  are  needle-shaped,  and 
arranged  in  groups  of  two,  three,  or  five.  The  leaves  of 
the  fir  are  single.  Those  of  the  larch,  when  they  do  appear 
in  April  or  May,  are  found  to  be  arranged  in  clusters  of 
about  a  dozen.  In  some  districts  oaks  are  absent,  birches 
absent  or  rare,  hornbeams  fairly  abundant.  The  par- 
ticular trees  which  must  be  studied  are  those  which  are 
abundant  near  the  school.  It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  the 
teacher,  to  conduct  a  nature  excursion  successfully,  must 
possess  a  deep  and  varied  knowledge  of  outdoor  life,  and  he 
must  be  acquainted  with  the  intricacies  and  peculiarities  of 
his  own  school  district. 

Whilst  studying  the  trees  on  this  excursion  interesting 
things  may  be  noted  which  have  little  or 
Phenomena  nothing  to  do  with  the  particular  ol)ject  of 
the  excursion.  Perhaps  a  hare  or  a  fox  may 
be  seen  crossing  the  fields.  Perhaps  squirrels  may  be 
observed  among  the  branches  of  the  trees.  Perhaps  a 
hibernating  dormouse  may  be  found  in  its  spherical  nest 
of  hay.  Perhaps  some  winter  migrants — field-fares  or 
redwings — may  be  seen  in  the  gardens  or  fields.  The 
teacher  must  decide  how  far  such  unrehearsed  items  shall 
be  discussed.  Anything  Avhich  furnishes  a  rare  oppor- 
tunity for  observation  should  be  turned  to  good  account 
by  the  teacher  and  his  class ;  and  this  need  not  interfere 
with  the  particular  study  for  which  the  excursion  is  being 


374 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATUKAL    HISTORY. 


uudertakeii.  After  a,ll,  it  is  of  greater  importauce  that 
a  unique  sight  should  be  carefully  observed  than  that  a 
particular  scbenie  of  carrying  out  a  lesson  or  excursion 
should  not  be  momentarily  interrupted. 

The  excursion  must  be  correlated  with  class  work.  An 
account  of  the  excursion  should  be  written 
and  Class  Work.  ^^  ®^^^^  pupil.  This  exercise  should  be  set 
in  class  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  The 
object  is  not  to  train  the  memory,  but  to  ensure  that  the 
most  is  being  made  by  the  pupils  of  their  opportimities. 
Consequently,  the  pocket  note-books  which  the  pupils  used 
on  the  excursion  may  be  consulted  by  them  when  writing 
out  this  account.  The  written  account  should  be  put  in 
the  class  note-book  which  is  used  for  nature  study,  and 
should  be  illustrated  by  sketches  elaborated  from  those 
made  in  the  pocket  note-books.  Specimens  brought  back 
from  the  excursion  may  also  be  observed  again  by  the  pupils 
when  writing  out  this  essay.  The  older  pupils  should  be 
able  to  write  quite  good  essays,  but  the  accounts  of  the 
younger  pupils  will  be  bald  and  crude  at  first.  Spelling 
and  syntax  need  not,  at  first,  be  regarded  as  matters  of 
primary  importance.  What  is  of  importance  is  that  the 
pupil  should  cultivate  the  power  of  expressing  in  his  own 
words  what  iie  has  seen  and  learnt. 

Many  of  the  specimens  brought  back  from  excursions 
are  such  that  they  admit  of  preseiwation 
Gathered.^  without  difficulty.     Twigs  of  trees  are  such 

objects.  These  should  be  utilised  as  speci- 
mens  for  the  school  museum,  that  is,  they  should  be  so 
placed  that  they  may  be  seen  and  observed  by  the  pupils 
at  any  time  whilst  lessons  on  nature  are  in  progress. 

It  is,  we  hope,  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  school  excur- 
sion need  not  be  the  occasion  of  any  acts  of  vandalism. 
Twigs  must  not  be  ruthlessly  torn  from  trees.     If  they  are 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  375 

cut  carefully  with  a  penknife,  the  tree  will  not  suffer; 
and  the  same  remark  applies  to  flowers.  "  Orchis  pluck, 
orchis  kill :  Orchis  cut,  orchis  still,"  is  an  old  country 
rhyme  which  should  be  constantly  in  the  teacher's  mind 
when  he  is  leading  an  excursion.  If  animals  are  exam- 
ined, all  semblance  of  cruelty  should  be  avoided,  and 
they  should  be  set  free  without  their  having  suffered 
injury.  If  they  are  carried  back  to  school,  it  must  be 
in  such  a  way  as  not  to  injure  them,  and  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  they  must  be  put  in  a  suitable  place. 
Pond  animals  are  easily  carried  in  water  in  bottles. 
Aquatic  animals  from  streams  wiU  not  as  a  rule  live  in  the 
stagnant  water  of  an  aquarium,  and  they  should  not  be 
experimented  with  in  this  direction.  In  the  aquarium 
they  wiU  only  die  and  foul  the  water.  ISTot  more  than  one 
animal  should,  as  a  rule,  be  carried  in  one  receptacle,  as 
most  animals  are  to  some  ext^ent  carnivorous. 

Au  excursion  with  the  above  object  should  be  followed 
by  lessons  on  the  flowers,  leaves,  fruits,  seeds, 
Subsequent  and  seedlings  of  the  trees  examined  on  the 
Excursions.  excursion.  The  leaves  of  the  trees  furnish  a 
suitable  object  for  a  summer  excursion.  The 
flowers  of  the  trees  could  not  all  be  met  with  on  a  sinole 
excursion,  as  they  appear  at  different  times  of  the  year. 
The  flowers,  then,  should  be  studied  in  class  as  they  appear 
on  the  trees.  The  flowers  of  the  elm  appear  in  March  and 
those  of  the  ash  during  April,  in  both  cases  when  the  trees 
are  bare  of  leaves.  The  sycamore  and  birch  flower  during 
late  April  or  early  May,  whilst  the  leaves  are  unfolding 
and  enlarging.  The  oak  and  beech  flower  in  May,  and  the 
flowers  appear  with  the  young  leaves.  A  few  trees  such 
as  the  sweet  chestnut  and  the  lime  produce  their  flowers 
during  summer,  when  the  leaves  are  full  grown.  The 
relation  between  the  appearance  of  the  flowers  and  leaves 


376  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATUKAL    HISTORY. 

of  particular  trees  furnishes  a  little  problem  which  a  class 
may  very  profitably  be  set  to  solve. 

Each  school  should  be  provided  with  copies  of  large  scale 
maps  of  the  district  immediately  surrounding 
'  the  school.  On  one  of  these  maps  should  be 
aiarked  the  usual  routes  of  the  school  excursions,  and  the 
chief  features,  such  as  streams,  ponds,  hills,  banks,  com- 
mons, and  woods,  which  are  encountered  on  the  excursions. 
The  ordnance  maps  on  the  scale  of  six  inches  to  the  mile, 
issued  l)y  the  Ordnance  Survey  Office,  Southampton,  are 
very  suitable  for  this  purpose ;  and  the  very  cheap  i-ate '  at 
which  schools  may  now  be  supplied  with  these  maps 
removes  any  objection  which  might  be  urged  on  financial 
gi'ounds  against  the  supply  of  at  least  one  or  two  copies  of 
these  maps  to  each  pupil  in  the  upper  years. 

A  list  of  suitable  objects  to  be  studied  in  nature  excur- 
sions is  here  appended.    The  list  is  intended  to 
^        .  be  suggestive  and  not  exhaustive.     Any  good 

teacher  of  nature  study  could  easily  add  more. 
In  winter :  — 

Winter  buds — on  trees  and  in  the  soil. 
Prickly  plants — haAvthorn,  sloe,  gorse,  briar,  bram- 
ble, holly,  gooseberry,  thistle. 
Hibernation  of  common  insects. 
Bird  life  in  winter. 
In  spring  : — 

Leaves  and  flowers  of  woodland  plants. 
Seedlings. 

Songs  and  habits  of  birds. 
Insects  of  streams  and  ponds. 
In  summer : — 

A  hayfield.     Grasses  in  flower. 

'  Application  shoiiM  be  made  to   tlie  Ordnance   Survey  Office, 
Soiitbampton. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATTTEAL    HISTOKY.  3?? 

Ferns  aud  horsetails. 
Pollination  of  flowers.     Bees  at  work. 
Caterpillars  and  butterflies. 
In  autumn : — 

A  cornfield.     A  study  of  weeds. 
Fi-uits  and  their  methods  of  dispersal. 
Resident  aud  migratory  birds. 
Kinds  of  insects. 
Many  schools,  now-a-days,  have  gardens  attached,  and 
lessons  in  gardening  often  form  a  definite 
School  portion  of  the  curriculum.     School  gardens 

ought  to  be  of  great  assistance  to  the  pupils 
in  nature  study  as  well  as  in  gardening.  The  mature 
stages  of  peas,  beans,  and  other  annuals  should  be  studied 
from  the  specimens  raised  in  the  gardens,  though  the 
earlier  stages  of  these  plants  are  best  studied  from  speci- 
mens which  have  been  raised  in  the  class-room  in  boxes  of 
damp  sawdust  or  cocoanut  fibre.  Certain  organs,  such 
as  root  hairs,  are  only  seen  to  advantage  in  specimens 
raised  in  this  latter  way.  Bulbs,  tubers,  tap-roots,  and 
other  underground  organs  of  perennial  and  biennial  plants 
may  also  be  studied  similarly,  the  adult  stages  being 
studied  in  the  garden  and  the  earlier  stages  from  specimens 
which  have  been  sprouted  indoors  in  boxes  of  sawdust  aud 
jars  of  water. 

Every  school  should  have  a  properly  equipped  aquarium 
stocked  with  water  plants,  snails,  and  a  few 
quana.  small  fishes.     Aquaria  with  flat  bottoms  will 

be  found  much  more  manageable  than  those  with  round 
bottoms.  Each  year  the  stages  of  development  of  the  frog 
should  be  watched,  and  the  emergence  of  some  perfect  fly 
from  its  aquatic  pupa.  In  addition  to  the  aquarium, 
bottles  containing  one  aquatic  plant  and  one  or  two 
small  aquatic  animals  are  also  desirable.     It  will  be  foimd 


378  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HI8T0RT. 

that  the  development  of  yoxing  snails  from  snails'  eggs, 

and  of  perfect  insects  fi'om  pupae  and  larvae,  will  afford 

never-failing  interest  to  the  pupils.     The  aquatic  plants 

should  be  fixed  to  the  bottom  of  the  aquarium  by  means 

of  stones  and  sand,  tvnd  if  suitable  plants  and  animals  are 

chosen  the  water  need  seldom  be  changed.     The  animals 

and  plants  which  are  utilised  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be 

chosen  from  the  ponds  near  the  school.     The  animals  and 

plants  which  are  found  in  streams  are,  as  a  rule,  totally 

unsuited  for  life  in  the  stagnant  water  of  aquaria. 

A  terrarium  is  also  a  most  desirable  adjunct  for  nature 

study  work.     Just  as  an  aquarium  is  a  piece 
TGrrEirisi 

of  apparatus  for  studying  aquatic  life,  so  a 

terrarium  is  a  device  for  studying  terrestrial  life.  The 
terrarium  need  not  be  an  expensive  affair.  We  have  seen 
an  excellent  terrarium  made  from  an  old  soap  box  with 
the  sides  removed,  the  long  sides  being  then  fitted  with 
glass,  and  the  short  sides  and  top  with  a  sheet  of  perforated 
zinc.  The  top  was  removable.  The  bottom  was  covered 
with  three  or  fom-  inches  of  soil  in  which  grass  and  clover 
seeds  were  sprouting.  A  few  young  cabbage  plants  were 
planted  at  one  end.  Leaves  of  the  nettle  and  other  plants 
were  added  as  required.  In  this  terrarium,  the  life  histories 
of  common  butterflies  and  moths,  such  as  the  cabbage 
white  and  the  tortoiseshell  butterflies,  and  the  tiger  and  the 
vapourer  moths,  were  enacted.  Caterpillars  were  devour- 
ing the  leaves,  chrysalids  were  hanging  in  odd  corners,  and, 
after  emergence,  one  or  two  perfect  insects  were  retained, 
whilst  the  rest  were  set  at  liberty.  The  insects  sipped  a 
syrupy  liquid  of  sugar  and  water,  and  sucked  honey  from 
flowers  which  were  added  from  time  to  time. 

We  have  seen  other  terraria  inhabited  by  frogs,  toads, 
lizards,  and  young  grass  snakes.  Occasionally,  in  schools, 
we  have  seen  pet  rabbits,  dormice,  and  squirrels,  and  even 


THK    TEACHING    OF    NATUKAI.    HISTORY.  3'f9 

a  hedgehog  and  a  mole.  All  this  involves  trouble  for 
somebody,  as  the  individual  needs  of  each  animal  must 
be  attended  to,  not  only  during  the  school  days,  but  also 
during  week-ends  and  vacations.  Many  boys,  however, 
keep  pets  at  home,  and  the  teacher  may  lighten  his 
labours  by  deputing  trustworthy  pupils  to  tend  the  school 
pets.  The  work  which  the  keeping  of  pets  entails  is  well 
remunerated  by  the  unfaiHng  interest  which  is  aroused, 
and  by  the  never  ending  source  of  gratification  and  profit 
which  follows. 

The  pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  keep  diaries  in  which 
.  to  enter  interesting  natural  phenomena  as 
"  they  occur.  A  class  diary  should  also  be 
kept  in  which  a  summary  of  the  events  observed  by  the 
various  pupils  should  be  entered.  The  class  diary  may  be 
placed  in  charge  of  one  of  the  pupils,  who,  after  a  little 
help  from  the  teacher,  will  be  able  to  do  the  work  quite 
well,  and  will  take  a  great  pride  in  doing  it.  The  diaries 
of  one  year  should  be  compared  with  those  of  previous 
years.  It  is  only  by  this  kind  of  work  that  the  pupils 
will  be  enabled  properly  to  study  the  seasonal  succession 
of  natural  phenomena,  and  to  say,  with  any  degree  of 
certainty,  whether  or  not  a  given  season  is  early  or  late.  A 
few  entries,  such  as  should  be  placed  in  the  diaries,  are 
given  below : — 

Feb.    3. — Hazel  in  flower,  Jackson's  Copse. 
„       7. — Willow    catkins    showing    white,     Jackson's 

Copse. 
„     18.  —  Sycamore  seedlings  emerging  from  their  cases, 

Hartley  Farm. 
„     22. — Rooks  at  Harold  Hall  begin  to  be  noisy. 
„     26.- — Coltsfoot  in  flower  on  the  railway  bank. 
„     28. — Last  few  days  very  mild. 
Mar.    1. — Rooks    commence    building    new   nests    and 


380  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATTTEAL    HtSTOIif. 

repairing  old  ones,  Harold  Hall.    Celandine, 
dandelion,  dog's  mercury  in  flower. 
Mar.  13. — Five    wild    geese    seen    at    Sewage    Works, 
Beckford. 
„     18. — Alder  in   flower,  Lady   Brook.     Frog  spawn 

and  young  tadpoles  in  Stroud's  pond. 
„     24. — Elm,  lilac,  and  sycamore  showing  leaves. 
„     25. — About  forty  rooks'  nests  at  Harold  Hall,  or 

ten  less  than  last  year, 
„     28. — Wagtails   at    Lady   Brook.      Tbrush    sitting 
at  Jackson's   Copse.     Anemone   in    flower, 
Jackson's  Copse. 
„     29. — Heavy  fall  of  snow,  followed  by  rapid  thaw. 
It  appears  to  be  a  prevalent  view  amongst  teachers  that 
models  and  diagrams  are  great  desiderata  in 
Dia^^ams"—       ^^^®  equipment  of  a  school  which  does  nature 
Should  be  made  work;  but  what,  after  all,  is  the  end  aimed 
^y  *^®  f  ^^^^^     fi-t  by  the  use  of  models  and  diagrams  ?     Is 
it  not  to  make  clear  the  form,  structure,  and 
functions  of  the  objects   studied  ?     If  so,  it  follows  that 
models  and  diagrams  are  useless   unless  the  objects,  in 
addition  to  models  and   diagrams  of  them,  are  also  ex- 
amined, and  that  bought  models  and  diagrams  of  objects 
actually  studied  are,  to  a  great  extent,  superfluous.     It 
also  follows  that  if  models  and  diagrams  are  made  by  the 
pupils  tliemselves  from  the  natural  ol)jects,  the  value  of 
these  models  and  diagrams  is  considerably  enhanced,  for 
such   work   necessarily  entails    a    more   careful   examina- 
tion of  the  actual  objects,  and  a  fuller  understanding  of 
them. 

Further,  bought  models  and  diagrams  are  expensive, 
and  the  money  at  the  teacher's  disposal  for  nature 
study  may  bo  more  usefully  expended  in  other  ways.  It  is 
very  discouraging  on  visiting  a  school  where  nature  study 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  381 

is  taken  to  be  shown  costly  diagrams  and  models,  expensive 
cases  of  dried  tree-specimens,  stuffed  animals,  and  the 
like.  Local  authorities  would  perform  an  excellent  service 
to  the  cause  of  true  nature  teaching  by  refusing  to  buy 
such  articles.  Models,  diagrams,  and  cases  of  specimens 
have  little  educational  value  unless  they  ax'e  made  and 
fitted  up  by  the  childi-en  themselves  from  actual  objects. 
Such  school-made  or  home-made  specimens  may  not 
possess  the  same  mechanical  elaborateness  or  perfection  as 
the  bought  article,  but  the  former  have  served  a  higher 
educational  purpose  than  the  latter  can  ever  hope  to 
fulfil. 

We  have  seen  excellent  models  of  fruits,  such  as  apples, 
plums,  and  oranges,  produced  by  children.  In 
Model  Models.  ^^^  ^^^^  ^-^^  models  were  made  from  fuller's- 
earth  which  was  found  near  the  school;  but  clay,  plasti- 
cene,  and  other  materials  may  at  any  time  be  purchased 
for  the  purpose.  The  models  should  be  made  and  coloured 
from  nature,  not  from  other  models  or  from  pictures. 
Some  should  illustrate  the  external  fonn  and  colour,  and 
others  the  form  and  structure  of  sections.  With  a  little 
ingenuity,  hinges  may  be  attached,  so  that  the  models  may 
open  and  shut.  Such  models,  we  repeat,  are  actually 
made  in  some  schools.  Another  set  of  models  which 
we  have  seen  illustrated  explosive  fniits,  and,  by  the 
judicious  use  of  whalebone  and  elastic,  afforded  a  very 
plausible  imitation  of  the  explosive  fruits  of  the  hairy  bitter 
cress,  a  common  weed  in  many  lowland  gardens.  Even 
when  the  models  made  in  this  way  are  not  very  lifelike, 
the  attempts  to  make  them  so  have  resulted  in  a  sounder 
knowledge  of  the  things  modelled,  and  thus  the  edu- 
cational result  is  greater  than  is  possible  from  the 
examination  of  costly  models  without  reference  to  the 
actual  object. 


382  THE    TEACHINO    OF    NATTJEAL    HISTORY. 

As  a  rule,  bought  diagrams  are  superfluous,  and  their 
place   should   be   taken   by  large   drawings 

Drawings  and    ^^^      ^      ^^^    children    from    the    object. 

Diagrams.  •'  ■' 

Fortunately,  this  aspect  of  nature  study  is 

now  being  much  emphasised  in  certain  quarters.     It  must 

be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is  no  more  one  of  the  ends  of 

nature  study  to  train  artists  than  it  is  to  train   scientists. 

It    is,    however,    an    important   aim    of    the    subject   to 

cultivate  the  powers  of  observation  and  expression,  and 

drawings    and    models   must    be    judged    in    this    light. 

The  drawing  and  colouring  of  plants  and  animals  from 

printed   copies   is   no  part   of   natui-e   study.     We   have 

seen  such  work  on  view  in  natui'e  study  exhibitions,  but 

surely  it  was  out  of  place.     One  exhibit  consisted  of  a 

number  of  colour  washings  of  the  snowdrop.     The  work 

was  excellent  from  many  points  of  view,  but  each  painting 

v>'as  like  its  fellows,  and  all  were  like  the  printed  copy  and 

singularly    unlike   the    snowdrops  of    the   gardens.      The 

work  was  excellent  in  its  way,  but  it  was  not  nature  study 

in  any  sense  of  the  term. 

The  di-awing  of  natui'al   objects  should  begin   in   the 

class  where  natiu-e  study  itself  begins,  and 
Drawing  should  be  continued  in  every  higher  class. 

Note-Books.       Every   object    examined  should   be   drawn. 

The  drawings  need  not  be  criticised  from 
the  artistic  standpoint :  the  teacher  should  be  content  if  the 
child's  powers  of  observation  and  expression  are  being  fully 
developed.  The  drawings  should  be  made  in  a  note-book, 
and  each  drawing  explained  by  notes.  There  should  not 
be  one  book  for  drawings  alone,  and  another  for  notes. 
The  drawings  may  be  in  pencil  during  the  earlier  stages, 
but  the  power  of  drawing  in  ink  should  be  cultivated  later, 
especially  in  the  case  of  specimens  with  simple  form  and 
outlines,  such  as  leaves,  fruits,  and  butterflies. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  383 

The  children  should  give  an  account  in  their  own  words 
of  the  things  they  see  and  examine.     Some 
Oral  and  difficulty  in  this  matter  will  be  encountered 

Descriptions.  ^^  first,  as  it  is  not  easy,  even  for  adults, 
when  dealing  with  strange  matters  to  dis- 
tinguish the  essential  from  the  inessential.  It  is  desirable, 
therefore,  for  the  teacher  at  first  to  have  some  definite 
plan  in  his  mind  as  regards  the  description  to  be  given, 
and  the  points  should  be  taken  one  by  one.  Important 
points  in  the  description  of  almost  any  object  taken  in 
nature  study  are : — kind  of  thing,  where  usually  found,  its 
general  shape,  its  general  colour,  its  size,  the  sepai-ate  parts, 
the  use  of  the  separata  parts,  the  use  of  the  whole  object, 
the  relation  of  the  separate  parts  to  the  whole  object  and 
of  the  object  to  its  natural  surroundings.  Questions  should 
be  asked  by  the  teacher  about  each  of  these  matters,  and 
the  questions,  as  a  rule,  should  be  such  that  they  can  only 
be  answered  by  a  reference  to  the  actual  object.  When  a 
good  answer  has  been  obtained  the  pupils  should  write 
down  in  their  note- books  what  has  just  been  found  out. 
Neither  notes  nor  drawings  should  ever  be  copied  from  the 
blackboard,  and  notes  should  never  be  written  down  at  the 
teacher's  dictation. 

The  school  museum  is  an  adjunct  in  many  schools  where 

^  ,     nature  study  is  included  in  the  ciu-riculum. 

museums  and  •' 

Collections—      Other  schools,  which  possess  no  museum  of 

f  "^^^'^  their  own,  occasionally  pay  visits  to  public 

Museiuns.  „,  ,  i- 

museums,      ihe  average  public  museum  is 

one  of  the  worst  places  possible  in  which  children  can 

attempt  to  do  serious  work  in  nature  study.     The  exhibits 

are  arranged  according  to  a  system  of  classification,  which, 

though  it  is  a  boon  to  mature  scientists,  is  foreign  to  the 

mind  of  the  child  and  to  the  minds  of  adults  unversed  in 

the  advanced  natural  sciences.    The  specimens,  being  more 


384  THE    TEACHING    OP    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

or  less  valuable,  are  kept  out  of  the  reach  of  the  inquisitive 
and  the  destructive  in  dust-proof  cases  with  glass  fronts. 
They  may  be  seen,  but  not  handled. 

Such  institutions  serve  many  useful  purposes,  but  their 
value  as  instruments  in  the  education  of  children  has  been 
greatly  exaggerated.  Here  and  there  a  museum  curator  is 
fired  with  the  laudable  ambition  of  rendering  signal  service 
to  school  children  in  their  study  of  natm-e.  Then  the 
systematically  arranged  specimens  of  fossils,  shells,  insects, 
and  birds  are  supplemented  by  cases  exhibiting  the  life- 
histories  of  common  animals  and  plants,  of  trees  in  their 
various  stages  of  seasonal  development,  and  of  plants 
which  grow  together  in  woods,  or  moors,  or  marshes.  All 
this  is  an  advance  on  the  more  stereotyped  mode  of  exhibit- 
ing specimens,  but  as  a  method  of  nature  teaching  it  is 
wanting  in  several  particulars. 

The  essence  of  nature  study  is  that  it  is  work  done  by 

the  pupils,  and  not  work  done  for  them  by 
School  other  people,  however  well  intentioned  the 

efforts  of  these  people  may  be ;  and  any  ex- 
hibit in  a  public  museum  which  may  be  of  service  in  natiu-e 
teaching  is  also  such  that  it  may  be  made  and  fitted  up 
in  the  school  and  by  the  school  childi-en.  In  the  latter 
event,  it  need  not  be  enclosed  in  a  glass  case.  The  school 
museum  is  an  institution  which  may  be  of  great  service  if 
it  is  founded  and  worked  on  the  right  lines.  It  must  not, 
however,  be  regarded  as  a  repository  of  curious  or  even 
interesting  objects. 
Most  school  museums  are  started  by  getting  together  a 

number    of    fossils    and   shells,    butterflies. 

Character  of      birds'    eggs,   and   stuffed   animals.      Many 

Good  School  boys,  and  some  girls,  have  the  nucleus  of 
Museums.  •'   '  n       • 

some    such    collection,    and   may    often    be 

persuaded  to  place  it   iji  the    school   museum.      Elder 


The  teachino  of  natural  histoet.  385 

brothers  and  sisters,  parents  and  friends,  may  possess 
similar  collections  wbicli  have  ceased  to  arouse  interest, 
and  these,  with  little  difficulty,  may  also  often  be  obtained 
for  display  in  the  school  museum.  After  the  lapse  of  some 
little  time,  however,  it  is  invariably  found  that  such  a 
museum  has  not  answered  the  expectations  of  its  founders : 
it  soon  ceases  to  interest  either  teachers  or  pupils;  the 
specimens  get  dirty  and  broken ;  and  the  whole  thing  is 
admitted  to  be  a  failure.  The  mistake  has  been  made  that 
the  wrong  things  have  been  put  in  the  museum,  and  that 
they  have  been  obtained  by  the  wrong  methods. 

The  right  method  is  to  exercise  the  pupils'  love  of  doing, 
and  to  be  concerned  only  with  those  objects  which  have 
some  relation  to  the  pupils'  lives— their  lives  in  home  and 
school  and  their  lives  out  of  doors.     When  the  pupils  are 
studying  trees  let  them  retain  some  of  the  specimens.    Let 
difi'erent  pupils  confine  theii'  attentions  in  this  department 
to  one  particular  tree.     Let  one  retain  specimens  of  oak, 
another  of  ash,  another  of  beech,  and  so  on  for  the  common 
and  accessible  trees  near  the  school.     Let  the  specimens 
illustrate  particular  points,  such  as  twigs  in  winter,  twigs 
in  late  spring,  unfolding  buds,  flowers,  leaves,  fruits,  seeds, 
and  seedlings.     Let  simple  dissections  be  made  of  certain 
specimens,  for  example,  of   unfolding   buds,  and  let  the 
various  parts  be  gummed  on  cardboard  in  proper  order. 
Let  some  complete  sets  be  mounted   on  large  sheets   of 
cardboard,  and  let  these  be  hung  on  the  school  walls.     Let 
other  complete  sets  remain  unmounted,  and,  put  in  boxes 
without   lock  and  key,  be  accessible  at  all  times.     Then 
will  the  school  museum  be  started,  and  be  in  a  fair  way  for 
success.     Other  objects  may  be  treated  in  a  similar  way. 
It  will,  however,  probably  be  found  that  it  is  impracticable 
for  one  class  to  treat  more  than  two  or  three  sets  of  objects 
in  thi.s  manner  in  a  single  year's  time. 

mi.  T(J.  25 


386  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATUKAL    HISTOKY. 

These  mounted  sheets  aud  loose  specimens  are  at  any 
time  available  for  class  instruction,  and  are  thus  of  greater 
value  than  specimens  in  public  museums,  which  at  best  are 
only  available  for  this  purpose  on  rare  occasions.  Fui'ther, 
the  objects,  having  been  made  by  the  pupils,  will  be  a 
constant  source  of  pride  to  themselves  and  of  emulation 
to  their  comrades.  Of  course  the  specimens  will  get  dusty 
and  untidy  in  time ;  but  also,  by  that  time,  those  par- 
ticular specimens  will  have  ceased  to  interest.  They  must 
be  replaced  by  similar  specimens  made  in  a  similar  way. 
The  seliool  museum  then  is  in  one  sense  a  temporary  affair. 
The  individual  specimens  do  not  remain  long  in  existence : 
they  do  not  require  expensive  cases ;  and  they  need 
replacing  from  time  to  time.  In  another  sense  it  is  a 
permanent  affair ;  for  it  is  a  constant  source  of  employ- 
ment, interest,  and  instruction  to  those  whom  it  is  intended 
to  benefit. 

Above  all,  it  must  be  remembered  that  nature  study  is, 
in  so  far  as  it  deals  with  animals  and  plants, 

Living  Objects  ^  study  of  living  things  ;  and  that,  therefore, 
of  First  .  o  o    '  '  > 

Importance.  living  objects  are  of  much  greater  importance 
than  museum  specimens.  The  latter  must 
never  be  substituted  for  the  former.  The  school  museum 
is  not  an  end  in  itself :  it  is  merely  an  adjunct  in  nature 
teaching.  Of  far  higher  value  than  the  school  musexim  are 
the  school  aquarium,  the  school  terra rium,  the  Wardian  case, 
the  plants  in  pots,  and  the  germinating  seeds  in  sawdust. 
A  great  deal  of  nonsense  has  been  spoken  and  written 

about  collections  of  natural  history  objects — 
Collections.  ^i      i  ,  -,11 

none  the  less  nonsense  because  it  has  been 

spoken   and   written    by   excellent   naturalists.      In  fact, 

many  collections  are  unjustifiable.     Such  collections    are 

those  which    merely   feed   the  desire   of   possession,  and 

which  involve  wanton  destruction.     These  are  nothing  but 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORT.  387 

collections,  and  should  be  discouraged.  Collections  of 
birds'  eggs,  of  dead  insects,  and  of  dried  plants  are  not 
inspiring.  Neither  have  they  any  educational  value  in 
a  school.  But  the  collecting  spirit  is  strong  in  boys; 
and  in  any  given  school  it  is  almost  a  certainty  that 
some  boys  are,  of  their  own  accord,  getting  together  a 
collection  of  some  sort.  It  is  the  duty  of  teachers  of 
natiu-al  history  to  see  that  these  collections  are  of  the 
right  sort,  that  they  are  made  in  the  right  way,  and  that 
they  are  utihsed  for  the  right  purpose.  The  fundamental 
traits  of  the  boy's  character  that  impel  him  to  make  a 
collection  of  some  sort  are  his  innate  love  of  activity,  and 
liis  excusable  desire  to  see  the  product  of  his  activity.  Is 
it  not  more  reasonable  to  utilise  these  qualities,  than  simply 
to  concern  oneself  in  emphasising  the  futility  of  mere 
collections  ? 

We  have  already  advocated  the  collecting  of  specimens 
of  trees  illustrating  seasonal  development,  and  this  is  by 
no  means  the  only  collection  of  educational  value  in 
nature  study  which  pupils  may  be  encouraged  to  make. 
Other  examples  of  collections  are :  specimens  illustratino- 
the  dispersal  of  fruits  and  seeds  by  the  wind;  twigs  of 
plants  with  thorns  and  prickles  ;  kinds  of  leaves ;  cornfield 
Aveeds  in  various  stages  of  growth;  injurious  insects  in 
various  stages  of  their  life-history,  with  specimens  of  the 
crops  on  which  they  feed.  All  collections  should  be 
accompanied  by  written  verbal  explanations,  and  by 
illustrative  sketches.  The  aim  sliould  be  to  liave  not  a 
large  collection  but  one  which  the  collector  understands. 
Such  collections  not  merely  do  no  harm,  but  they  possess 
an  ediicational  value  in  themselves.  They  also  turn  to 
good  account  certain  inherent  traits  in  the  characters  of 
children  which  no  aniomit  of  either  teaching  or  preaching 
will  ever  eradicate. 


388       THK  TEACHINO  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY". 

The  specimens  collected,  iu  niany  cases,  should  go 
towards  stocking  the  school  museum.  Children  like  this 
kind  of  work,  and  it  is  eminently  siiitable  to  be  undertaken 
out  of  school  hoiu-s,  and  especially  during  vacations.  It 
will  be  seen  that  any  objects  Avliich  are  suitable  for  the 
school  museum  are  also  suitable  for  collections,  and  that 
the  right  form  of  collecting  furnishes  an  excellent  method, 
not  only  of  stocking  the  school  museum,  but  also  of 
properly  dii'ectiug  the  energies  of  pupils  with  collecting 
instincts  and  of  providing  useful  vacation  work.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  collecting  must  not  in  any 
way  take  the  place  of  a  study  of  live  objects  in  their 
natural  surroundings,  but  must  be  so  used  that  it  is  a 
help  to  such  study. 

6.  It   will    be   seen   from   the    foregoing    that    nature 
study  is  naturally  related  to  several  subjects 
Correlation        which  are  taught  in  primary  schools.     Many 
lubjects.^^         aspects  of  geography  are,  in  fact,  integral 
portions  of  the  subject.     In  this  chixpter  the 
term  has  been  limited  to  the  study  of  living  things ;  but 
nature  is  not  all  living,  and  the  study  of  natural  phenomena 
— of  rain,  snow,  ice,  clouds,  of   rivers  and 
Geography.        ^.^^.^.  ^^^^,^^  ^^  ^j^^  ^^^^  ^f  ^^^h  and  moun- 
tains,   and  of  valleys  and  plains — is  natui'e  study  equally 
with  the  study  of  plants  and  animals. 

Many  natural  regions  in  foreign  lands  have  strong 
resemblances  to  certain  limited  areas  iu  this  country. 
Any  natural  British  v/ood,  for  example,  typifies  the  tem- 
perate forests  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  A  tract  of 
sandhills  on  the  British  coast  has  many  points  in  common, 
Avith  regard  to  climate,  soil,  and  vegetation,  with  the  gx-eat 
sandy  deserts  found  in  many  continental  areas.  A  British 
estuarine  mud  flat  has  marked  resemblances  in  physical 
and  soil  conditions  with  the  mangrove  swamps  of  tropical 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  389 

shores,  though  the  vegetation  of  the  two  areas  is  in  sharp 
contrast  owing  to  climatic  diiferences.  A  Pennine  moor 
has  many  points  of  agreement  with  the  enormous  stretches 
of  Arctic  tundra.  A  teacher  of  natural  history  shoidd  Ije 
also  a  student  of  geography  in  its  widest  sense,  and  sliould 
be  prepared  to  teach  lioth  subjects. 

Every  lesson  in  nature  study  should  also  be,  to  some 
extent,  a  training  in  the  correlated  work  of 

Modelling.  natural  objects  may  l)e,  and  sliould  l)e,  made 
during  the  time  allotted  in  the  time-table  to 
manual  instruction.  This  applies  esijecially  to  cardboard 
work,  clay  modelling,  and  woodwork.  Every  scheme  of 
work  in  drawing  and  modelling  should  include  examples 
from  ]i;itui-al  objects  ;  and,  of  course,  every  lesson  in  nature 
study  should  include  some  work  in  drawing  and  at  times 
modelling  the  object  studied.  There  should  be  a  common 
understanding  l)etween  the  teacher  of  natural  historv  on 
the  one  hand  au<l  the  teachers  of  manual  work  and  of 
drawing  and  modelling  on  the  other  ;  and  thus  much  time 
may  be  economised  in  the  working  of  the  school. 

The  cultivation  of  verl)al  expressi(m,  both  written  and 

English.  ^^'^^'  ^^  ^^®  °^  *^^  ^'^^^^^  ®^^^  ^^  nature  study. 

The  powers  of  verbal  description  and  com- 
parison are  very  deficient  not  only  in  most  school  children, 
but  in  many  adults,  and  the  training  of  these  powers 
receives  far  too  Httle  attention  in  most  schools  and  colleo-es. 
It  cannot  be  expected  that  young  childi-en  will  he  able  to 
wi-ite  good  essays  on  abstract  subjects ;  but  every  nature 
lesson  should  exercise  the  pupils'  power  of  verbal  descrip- 
tion: the  majority  should  give  practice  to  their  power  of 
comparison :  most,  if  not  all,  shoidd  train  theii-  power  of 
writing  down  in  words  what  they  have  discovered  by  obser- 
vation.    Even  quite  young  children  should  do  something 


390  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

in  these  respects.  The  teacher  must  not  expect  rovinded 
sentences  and  precise  phraseology,  but  simple  ideas  may 
be  simply  expressed  by  the  children  even  in  the  lower 
years. 

The  connection  between  the  study  of  nature  and  litera- 
ture is  very  direct,  for  the  best  literature  is  full  of  the 
poetry  of  nature.  G-reat  writers  interpret  nature  to  us,  so 
that  we  find  in  it  depths  Avhich,  without  their  aid,  we 
should  never  have  suspected.  Just  as  a  picture  of  Turner 
has  manifested  to  thousands  beauties  and  meanings  in 
familiar  scenes  to  which  they  had  hitherto  been  oblivious, 
so  it  is  with  a  sonnet  of  WordsAvorth  or  an  ode  of  Shelley. 
The  eye  of  the  poet  sees  more  than  does  the  common  eye, 
and  his  dulcet  tones  bring  home  to  the  prosaic  conmion 
mind  that  every  piece  and  aspect  of  nature  has  its  own 
lieauty.  Most  men  need  such  an  interpreter  before  they 
can  gain  from  nature  all  they  are  capable  of  receiving. 

These  thoughts  suggest  to  us  the  kind  of  reading  book 
that  should  be  used  in  connection  with  nature  study.  The 
too  common  fonn  of  'nature  reader'  which  attempts  to 
teach  at  second  hand  facts  which  are  only  fruitfid  when 
gathered  at  first  hand  should  be  rigidly  excluded  from  the 
school.  Just  as  the  function  of  the  history  or  the  geo- 
graphy reader  is  not  to  teach  facts,  but  to  bring  the  pupils' 
minds  into  sympathetic  relations  with  peoples  of  other 
times  and  other  lands,  so  the  fmiction  of  a  nature  reader 
is  to  bring  them  into  living  relations  with  nature.  It  does 
not  aim  at  imparting  facts  about  nature,  but  at  awakening 
a  love  for  nature,  and  in  cultivating  an  attitude  of  mind 
responsive  to  nature's  voice.  And  the  best  and  most 
effective  way  of  doing  this  is  to  let  the  pupils  read  some  of 
the  finest  pieces  of  literature  which  have  nature  and  the 
beauties  of  natiu-e  for  their  theme.  A  nature  reader  may, 
then,  consist  of  a  selection  of  passages  of  real  literature 


THK    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY  39] 

both  iu  prose  aud  verse  which  breathe  throughout  the  true 
spirit  of  the  lover  of  nature. ' 

Another  kind  of  reader  which  deals  with  natural  history 
may  be  found  interesting  and  of  some  value — that  which 
aims  at  extending  the  pupils'  knowledge  by  describing 
things  which  fall  outside  the  range  of  observation  of  the 
average  school  child.  Such  a  book  makes  no  attempt  to 
supplant  observational  work  or  to  describe  experiments 
which  may  be  performed  by  the  pupils.  But  it  utihses 
their  direct  experiences  by  calling  on  them  to  picture 
remote  scenes.  And  as  the  pupils'  knowledge  and  love 
of  nature  increase  they  will  desire  to  hear  of  the  forms 
nature  talvcs  in  places  beyond  the  range  of  their  own  obser- 
vations, aud  will  welcome  a  book  which  helps  them  so  to 
widen  their  knowledge.  Such  a  I'eader  may  compare  and 
contrast  the  products  of  distant  lands  with  those  of 
our  own  country,  and  enter  into  some  detail  with  regard 
to  the  aspects  of  distant  lauds  which  send  to  our 
shores  various  exotic  pi'oducts.  It  may  compai'e  a  rice 
plantation  -with  a  British  wheatfield,  and  the  African 
veldt  with  the  Yorkshire  fells.  The  reading  of  such  a 
work  is  not  directly  nature  study,  but  it  is  a  logical 
outcome  of  it. 

The  connection  of  nature  study  with  mathematics  is  not 
obvious  at  first  sight ;  and  herein  lies  a 
weakness  of  nature  study.  The  latter  sub- 
ject is  apt,  in  practice,  to  become  loose  in  its  observations 
and  vague  in  its  conclusions.  This,  indeed,  is  not  altogether 
an  inherent  weakness,  but  it  is  one  which  every  nature 
teacher  needs  guard  against.  To  some  extent  tliis  defect 
in  the  subject  may  bo  remedied  by  measurements,  taken  at 

^  An  admirable  book  of  this  kind  is  A  Nature  Reader,  edited  b}- 
Sir  J.  A.  Cockbuni  and  Mr.  E.  Speight,  and  published  by  Hodder 
and  Stoughtou. 


392  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

regular  periods,  of  growing  organs ;  by  accurately  counting 
certain  detailed  structures  of  organs,  such  as  the  serrations 
of  leaves,  and  calculating  averages ;  and  by  many  similar 
observations.  Such  work  is,  indeed,  becoming  an  important 
part  of  advanced  biological  work,  and  has  already  led  to 
several  useful  generalisations ;  and  there  is  every  reason 
why  such  work  should  be  included  in  elementary  coiu'ses  of 
nature  stud3\  In  any  event,  however,  this  weakness  of 
nature  study  ought  to  be  frankly  admitted  even  by  its 
most  devoted  adherents ;  and  we  are  strongly  of  opinion 
that  every  course  of  nature  study  should  be  supplemented 
by  a  course  of  work  in  careful  physical  and  mathematical 
measurements. 

7.  In  choosing  lessons  in  natui'e  study,  preference  should 

be  given  to  those  subjects  which  lend  them- 
Studv^  ^  selves  to  the  solving   of   easy  problems  by 

careftil  observations  and  simple  experiments. 
The  apparatus  used  in  the  experiments  may  usually  be 
home-made  or  school-made.  Expensive  apparatus  for 
nature  lessons  in  schools  is  hardly  ever  desirable.  The 
lessons  should  be  vitally  and  intimately  connected  with 
each  other,  and  the  teacher  should  not  attempt,  at  the 
beguining  of  a  coiu-se  of  instruction,  to  give  separate  titles 
to  each  lesson. 

A  highly  suitable  series  of  lessons  for  the  earlier  years 

may  be  found  in  seeds  and  the  conditions 
Earlier  v^eara     ^©cessary    to    their    germination    and    their 

growth  to  mature  plants. 
The  first  lesson  on  the  broad  bean  to  pupils  of  the  lower 

years  requires  the  following  specimens  : — 
The  First  Bean  pods,  some  fresh  (if  obtainable  at  the 

ggg(jg  time  the  lesson  is  given)  and  some  dry,  with 

attacluid  seeds  inside ;  and  some  dry  beans. 
KiUih  pupil  should  have  at  least  one  specimen   of  eacj>. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATUEAL    HISTORY.  393 

The  nature,  colour,  size,  general  sliape,  and  markings  of 
the  dry  bean  sliould  first  be  orally  described  by  the  pupils, 
and  then  the  specimen  should  be  drawn.  The  significance 
of  the  black  scar  may  bo  understood  by  a  reference  to  the 
beans  attached  to  seedstalks  in  the  pods.  Then  an  account 
of  the  things  seen  and  learnt  should  be  written  by  the 
pupils.  Til  is  is  as  much  as  should  be  attempted  in  one 
lesson. 

The  second  lesson  requires  dry  beans  and  also  beans 
which  have  been  allowed   to  soak  in  water 
Lesson.  overnight.     It  should  begin  with  a  brief  re- 

statement by  the  pupils  of  the  things  seen 
and  learnt  in  the  first  lesson.  This  should  be  followed  by 
a  description  of  the  soaked  beau.  Then  the  dry  beans 
should  be  compared  with  the  soaked  beans,  and  the 
differences  described  by  the  pupils.  At  once  problems 
are  suggested  which  only  future  work  can  solve.  Why  is 
not  the  soaked  bean  wrinkled  ?  Why  is  it  not  hard  and 
brittle  ?  Is  the  soaked  bean  heavier  than  the  dry  bean  ? 
Is  there  an  opening  in  the  seed,  and  how  may  such  opening 
be  demonstrated?  Would  water  enter  the  bean  if  the 
opening  were  stopped  by  sealing  wax  or  by  rubber 
solution  ?  Does  water  enter  the  seed  through  the  scar  ? 
Would  water  enter  the  seed  if  the  scar  were  covered  with 
rubber  solution  ?  Does  water  enter  the  bean  through  the 
seed- skin  ? 

Such  questions  should  suggest  experiments  for  futui-e 
lessons.  They  cannot  be  answered  at  the  time  they  are 
raised,  but  all  may  and  should  be  answered  by  work 
actually  done  in  class.  The  answers  should  not  be 
supplied  by  the  teacher.  Continuing  the  lesson,  the  skin 
of  the  dry  bean  shoidd  be  removed  by  means  of  a  pen- 
knife, and  the  germ  or  young  plant  inside  should  be 
examined.     Then   the  skin  oj:  coat  of   the   soaked   be^u 


394  THE   TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

should  be  removed.  This  is  a  much  easier  matter  than 
the  removal  of  the  skin  of  the  dry  bean.  The  two  large 
lobes,  the  young  root  which  pokes  outwards  and  down- 
wards, and  which  fits  into  a  pocket  of  the  seed-coat,  and 
the  young  shoot  which  is  carefully  packed  away  between 
the  two  lobes  should  be  noted.  The  full  significance  of 
these  parts  will  not  be  understood  by  the  pupils  until  they 
have  watched  the  growth  of  the  leaves  for  some  weeks. 
The  germ  inside  the  seed-coat  should  be  di-awn  in  such  a 
position  that  the  different  parts  and  their  relation  to  each 
other  may  be  seen.  Then  a  written  account  of  the  parts 
should  be  given  by  the  pupils. 

In  the  third  lesson  the  seed  of  the  bean  should  be  com- 
pared with  other  carefully  chosen  seeds,  such 
The  Third  ^^  those  of  the  pea,  the  sycamore,  and  the 
mustard.  These  should  be  drawn  to  show 
the  parts  which  correspond  to  the  parts  of  the  bean.  The 
o-eneralisation  should  eventually  be  made  that  a  seed 
consists  of  a  seed-coat  enclosing  a  germ  or  young  plant 
with  lobes  ('seed-leaves'),  young  root,  and  young  shoot. 
In  all  cases  it  will  be  found  that  soaked  seeds  are  more 
easily  examined  than  dry  ones. 

The  various  seeds  examined  should  have  been  planted, 
some  in  damp  sawdust  for  the  examination  of  the  early 
growing  stages,  and  some  in  soil  in  pots  and  in  the  beds 
of  the  school  garden  for  the  examination  of  the  maturer 
plants  later  in  the  season.  The  teacher  should  calculate 
at  the  commencement  the  approximate  number  of  seeds 
his  class  will  require.  The  seeds  should  be  planted  by 
the  pupils  at  the  beginning  of  the  series  of  lessons,  and 
the  teacher  will  be  well  advised  in  taking  the  precaution 
to  plant  some  a  week  or  a  fortnight  earlier,  as  a  spell  of 
cold  weather  may  delay  the  germination  of  the  specimens 
planted  by  the  pupils. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  395 

The  fourth  lesson  requires  beaiis  wLich  have  so  far 
geriniuated  tliat  they  show  an  elongated 
Lesson*  young   root,   and    the   young    shoot   forcing 

its  way  out  from  between  the  seed  leaves 
or  lobes.  The  parts  in  their  present  condition  should  be 
observed,  described  and  drawn,  and  compared  with  the 
same  parts  as  they  existed  in  the  seeds  before  germina- 
tion. Further  problems  will  here  arise  for  solution.  What 
things  are  needed  to  make  the  seed  sprout  ?  Is  soil 
necessary?     Is  light?     Is  water  ?     Is  warmth  ?     Is  air? 

The  fifth  and  two  or  three  succeeding  lessons  should 
consist  of  simple  experiments  designed  to 
Lessons ^'^^  answer  some  of  the  questions  raised.  It 
wiU  doubtless  have  been  suggested  that  soil 
is  necessary  for  the  germination  of  seeds.  The  pupils 
should  fix  a  soaked  bean  by  a  needle  to  the  cork  of  a  large 
bottle  about  a  third  full  of  water.  It  will  be  found  that 
the  bean  will  germinate  in  the  damp  atmosphere  of  the 
bottle.  It  should  also  be  shown  that  a  bean  will  genninate 
in  darkness.  The  necessity  of  warmth  may  be  shown  by 
futile  attempts  to  grow  beans  in  soil  or  damp  sawdust  in 
which  ice  is  kept  and  replaced  as  it  melts. 

Moistui-e  may  be  shown  to  be  essential  by  the  pupils 
observing  that  seeds  never  germinate  if  kept  in  dry  places. 
It  is  more  difiicult  to  prove  that  air  is  necessary  for 
germination,  but  seeds  may  be  shown  not  to  germinate 
if  kept  in  bottles  quite  full  of  water  or  of  coal  gas,  even 
if  moisture  and  soil  are  also  supplied.  Practical  direc- 
tion for  these  experiments  may  be  found  in  text-books, 
especially  in  Osterhaut's  Experiments  with  Flants.  The 
seeds,  wliich  all  the  while  are  genninating,  should  be 
examined  in  their  various  stages  until  the  mature  plants 
have  grown  in  the  pots  and  in  the  gardens.  Then  the 
mature  organs,  the  root,  the  stem,  the  leaves,  the  flowers, 


396  THE    TEAOniNG    OF    NATURAL    HISTOEY. 

and  finally  the  pods  and  seeds,  should  be  examined  in  turn. 
All  through,  observational  work  should  be  correlated  with 
experimental  work  ;  and  the  experimental  work  should  be 
such  that  it  answers  the  questions  put  by  the  pupils  or 
suggested  by  the  teacher.  Such  a  course  of  lessons  as  is 
here  outlined  should  furnish  work  which  may  begin  about 
Easter,  and  which  may  terminate  about  the  commencement 
of  the  midsummer  liolidays. 

It  is  not  desirable  that,  during  the  time  that  seeds  and 
their  germination  are  being  stvidied,  no  other 

OtheTsubJects.  ^^^^i^.c^s    ^^'^^^    ^'^   ^'^^^^n    up    by    the   class. 

The  important  point  to  notice  is  that  such 
a  coiu'se  of  lessons  must  of  necessity  occupy  a  few  months ; 
and,  whilst  the  plants  are  growing  and  the  experiments 
proceeding,  many  opportunities  are  sure  to  arise  for 
dealing  with  other  seasonable  subjects  in  a  rather  less 
detailed  manner. 

Besides  detailed  work  on  seeds,  the  pupils  in  the  earlier 

years  may  also  examine  a  few  simple  flowers, 

and  study  the  methods  of  dispersal  of  fruits 
and  seeds,  the  development  of  the  frog  and  of  a  common 
butterfly,  and  the  simple  facts  of  the  respiration  of 
animals.  The  particular  order  of  the  various  courses  is 
not  so  important  as  it  is  that  the  individual  lessons  in 
each  course  should  grow  out  of  each  other,  and  thus  be 
vitally  and  organically  connected.  In  every  year  some 
out-door  work  is  necessary,  and  the  excursions  taken 
should  be  in  connection  with  the  lessons. 

For  pupils  of  the  intermediate  years  some  lessons  on  the 

subjects  studied  in  the  earlier  years  should  be 

ii  For  the  taken,  other  specimens  being  used.     Instead 

Intermediate         „  ,  -, 

Years.  01  beans,  peas,  sycamore,  and  mustard,  other 

seeds,  such  as  laburnum,  gorse.  wheat,  and 

onion,  should  be  studied.      The  treatment  should  also  ba 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATUEAI^    HISTORY.  397 

of  a  rather  more  advanced  nature.  Tho  reserve  food  in 
seeds  should  be  noted,  and  a  few  simple  teats,  such  as  the 
iodine  test  for  starch  and  the  lime-water  test  for  carbon 
dioxide,  should  be  explained  and  applied. 

Some  undergroimd  organ  of  a  biennial  or  of  a  perennial 

plant  should  be  studied  on  the  same  lines  as 
?n  ^rPotato.  ^eeds.     The  tuber  of  the  potato  ^vill  answer 

admirably.  The  potato  in  its  resting  state 
should  first  be  examined.  The  eyes  containiug  the  buds 
of  the  tuber  should  be  observed,  and  it  should  be  noted 
that  the  eyes  are  aggregated  at  one  end.  At  the  other 
end,  the  remains  or  scar  of  the  stalk  which  attached  the 
tuber  to  the  parent  plant  nitiy  be  seen ;  but  it  is  probable 
that  this  cannot  be  well  demonstrated  until  a  growing 
plant  Avith  young  tubers  attached  to  it  is  observed.  The 
two  ends  may,  however,  alv/ays  be  distinguished  by  the 
number  of  eyes  being  greater  at  one  end  than  the  other. 
The  two  ends  should,  for  the  sake  of  convenience  of 
reference,  and  in  order  to  emphasise  their  different  natures, 
be  named — the  one  the '  eye  end,'  or '  bud  end,'  or  '  growing 
end ' ;  and  the  other  the  '  stalk  end '  or  '  barren  end.' 

These  names  should  not  be  given  until  the  children  have 
grasped  the  fact  that  the  two  ends  are  really  different,  and 
this  fact  will  not  be  fully  realised  until  the  specimens  have 
been  allowed  to  sprout  for  a  few  Aveeks.  The  position 
of  the  eyes  should  be  carefully  noted.  This  can  only  be 
done  satisfactorily  by  fixing  a  pin  in  each  eye  and  joining 
the  pins  by  a  piece  of  thread.  If  the  thread  is  first  fixed 
on  the  pin  nearest  the  stalk  end,  and  then  fixed  in  order  on 
each  pin  next  in  distance  above,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
eyes  are  arranged  in  a  spiral,  that  the  sixth  eye  is  exactly 
over  the  first,  and  that  the  thread  in  going  from  the  first 
to  the  sixth  eye  goes  round  the  tuber  twice.  This  ar- 
rangement   should    be   compared    with   the   arrangement 


398  TUB    TEACHING    OF    NATUKAL    HISTORY. 

of  bnds  on  twigs  of  the  oak  aud  of  leaves  ou  stems  of  the 
wall-flower. 

Potatoes  should  be  planted,  as  were  the  seeds,  some  iu 

the  school  garden  or  in  soil  iu  pots,  some  in 
Experiments  sawdust  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  kept  permanently 
Potato.^  damp,    some   in  damp  air,  some   in   water, 

and  some  iu  soil.  Some  should  be  planted 
with  the  bud  end  upwards  and  some  with  the  bud  end 
downwards.  Some  should  be  cut  in  two,  thus  separating 
the  bud  end  from  the  stalk  end,  and  each  half  should  be 
planted.  Some  should  be  cut  up  into  a  number  of  pieces, 
some  pieces  with  an  eye,  and  some  pieces  without. 

The  condition  of  the  planted  specimens  should  be 
observed  from  time  to  time.  After  a  week  or  two,  when 
the  buds  have  begun  to  sprout,  there  will  be  no  difiiculty 
whatever  in  distinguishing  the  bud  end  or  growing  end 
from  the  stalk  end  or  barren  end.  Problems  will  arise  as 
in  the  case  of  the  growing  bean.  Will  the  buds  of  the 
potato  sprout  if  kept  in  the  dark  ?  Do  all  the  growing 
specimens  gain  in  weight?  "Which  do  not?  Why  do 
the  tubers  with  growing  buds  turn  soft?  In  the  case 
of  the  specimens  which  gain  in  weight,  where  does  the 
extra  material  come  from  ?  In  the  case  of  the  specimens 
grown  in  the  dark,  at  what  stage  do  they  die  ?  Do  the  grow- 
ing shoots  of  the  latter  specimens  turn  green  ?  The  lessons 
on  the  potato  may  be  begun  in  May,  but  they  cannot  be 
concluded  until  the  specimens  planted  in  the  garden  and 
flower-pots  have  fully  matured  in  the  following  autumn. 
The  roots,  leaves,  stems,  flowers,  and  seeds  of  the  potato 

will,  of  coui-se,  be  studied  as  well  as  the 
Other  Work.  ^^^^jevs.  Other  courses  may  be  taken  by 
pupils  of  the  intermediate  years  on  bulbs,  on  the  identifica- 
tion of  common  trees  and  shrubs,  on  the  work  of  flowers, 
on  the  dispersal  of  fruits  and  seeds  iu  greater  detail  than 


TSii   TEACHING    OP    NATUfeAt,    HISTORY.  399 

was  taken  in  the  lower  years,  on  the  development  of  three 
or  four  common  insects,  on  birds,  and  on  the  blood  circula- 
tion of  the  higher  animals.  The  work  of  the  pupils  of  the 
intermediate  years  should  show  a  distinct  advance  on  that 
of  the  pupils  of  the  lower  years.  This  advance  must  be 
seen  in  the  nature  of  the  observations,  in  the  pupils'  power 
of  expression  by  oral  and  written  descriptions  and  by 
drawing  and  modelling,  and  in  the  ability  to  draw  general 
conclusions  and  inferences. 

In  the  later  years  lessons  should  be  given  on  the  con- 
stituent gases  of  the  air,  on  water,  and  on  the 
Later°Year^s.  different  kinds  of  soil.  Then  the  pupils 
will  be  able  to  understand  such  subjects 
as  the  importance  of  oxygen  and  of  carbon  dioxide  to 
plants  and  animals.  Simple  lessons  on  sound,  heat, 
light,  magnetism  and  electricity,  and  on  force  and 
mechanical  devices  are  also  desirable.  Other  courses 
should  include  further  observations  and  experiments  on 
seeds,  bulbs,  tubers,  and  other  underground  organs  of 
plants,  different  examples  being,  as  a  rule,  chosen  in  the 
various  years.  The  double  function,  reproductive  and  food 
storage,  of  these  underground  organs  should  be  discovered 
by  the  pupils.  Tests  for  starch  and  sugar  should  be  ex- 
plained and  applied;  and  the  importance  of  these  substances 
to  the  resting  and  growing  parts  of  plants  respectively 
should  be  ascertained  by  the  pupils.  Lessons  should  be 
given  on  the  work  of  leaves,  but,  as  this  is  fully  explained  in 
most  text-books,  it  need  not  be  referred  to  in  any  detail  here. 
The  life  history  of  some  common  wild  plant  should  be 
studied.      The    little    celandine,    which    is 

^f!v,^^T^?f?'      abundant   in   damp   woods  and  hedgerows, 
of  the  Littlf?  .,,  ji  •  o  ' 

Celandine.  will    serve    this    purpose    excellently.     The 

heart-shaped  glossy  leaves  of  the  plant  are 

easily  distinguished  in  very  earlj  spring,  and  its  golden 


400  THE    TEACHING    OF    NATOBAL    HISTORT. 

starlike  flowers  make  the  woods  aud  hedge  banks  gaj  at  a 
time  when  most  other  plants  are  hardly  awake  from  their 
winter  sleep. 

The  flowers  have  three  or  four  green  coverings  on  the 
outside,  which  keep  the  flower-bud  warm  and  dry. 
Within  these  are  eight  or  nine  bright,  golden  petals, 
whose  bright  colours  attract  bees,  wasps,  and  hies  on 
warm  spring  days.  At  the  base  of  each  petal  is  a  little 
honey-bag.  There  is  sufScient  honey  in  each  in  warm 
sunslaiuy  weather  to  give  the  sensation  of  sweetness  to 
the  tongue.  The  insects  which  visit  the  flower  suck  iip 
this  nectar.  They  should  be  watched  while  at  work. 
Thev  alight  on  the  flower,  settle  themselves  in  the 
middle  with  their  heads  dipping  dow^nv^ards  to  the 
honey  glands,  and  gradually  turn  round  as  they  visit 
each  petal.  The  insects  stand  on  the  stamens,  of  which 
there  is  a  large  number.  Each  stamen  consists  of  a 
yellow  stalk  and  a  yellow  knob.  These  knobs  contain 
yellow  dust  called  pollen,  which  sticks  to  the  legs  and 
undersides  of  the  body  of  the  insects  as  they  gather  the 
honey  from  the  petals.  The  younger  stamens  in  the  middle 
of  a  flower  are  not  yet  ripe — that  is,  they  have  not  yet 
burst  and  shed  theii-  pollen.  In  older  flowers,  where  the 
central  stamens  are  ripe,  the  green  seed-boxes  or  ovaries 
may  be  seen.  At  the  top  of  each  is  a  little  sticky  place, 
with  probably  some  pollen  sticking  to  most  of  them. 
How  did  the  pollen  get  there  ?  Have  the  insects  brought 
it  ?  Woiild  pollen  get  there  if  the  young  flowers  were  so 
covered  with  thin  muslin  that  the  insects  could  not  visit 
them  ?  Why  could  it  not  ?  Do  such  flowers  ever  ripen 
seed  ?  Does  the  bee  perform  any  service  to  the  flower  in 
return  for  the  honey  it  gets  ? 

The  flowers  should  be  noted  on  fine,  warm  days,  aud 
ou  wet  or  sunless  days.     The  pupils  should  not  experience 


IHE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  401 

much  difficulty  in  finding  what  advantage  it  is  to  the  plant 
that  its  flowers  are  open  on  sunny  days,  and  closed  on 
sunless  days  when  rain  threatens  or  falls.  What  other 
spring  flowers  open  and  close  in  the  same  way  ?  What 
spring  flowers  do  not  ?  If  the  teacher  directs  the  attention 
of  his  pupils  to  such  spring  flowers  as  the  little  celandine, 
the  crocus,  the  tulip,  the  snowdrop,  the  violet,  and  the 
daffodil,  the  pupils  should  form  the  hypothesis  that  upright 
spring  flowers  have  the  power  of  opening  and  closing,  and 
that  spring  flowers  which  have  not  this  power  droop  or  bend 
over  and  thus  protect  their  inner  floral  parts  from  I'aiu. 

The  way  in  which  the  flower  stalks  of  the  little  celandine 
curl  over  as  its  fruits  and  seeds  are  ripening,  the  thick  skin 
of  the  leaves  of  the  plant  when  contrasted  with  the  thin 
skin  of  the  leaves  of  blue-bells  and  some  other  plants 
which  gi'ow  in  more  shady  places,  and  the  fibrous  roots, 
all  furnish  exercises  in  observation  and  deduction  for  the 
pupils. 

The  manner  of  reproduction  of  the  plant  is  an  important 
point.  The  starchy  tubers,  each  with  a  winter  bud,  must 
be  examined  and  experimented  upon.  Seeds  must  be 
gathered  when  ripe  in  June,  planted  in  damp  soil,  and  the 
results  of  germination  carefully  noted.  In  certain  districts, 
it  is  said  that  the  seeds  of  the  plant  do  not  germinate. 
This  is  a  point  worth  testing  in  all  school  districts.  The 
seeds  germinate  in  Cheshire  and  Somerset,  whatever  they 
may  do  elsewhere ;  and,  in  any  case,  the  plant  reproduces 
itself  very  freely  by  its  tubers  and  winter  buds ;  so  that,  if 
the  spring  be  cold  and  wet  and  seeds  then  fad  to  ripen,  the 
loss  to  the  plant  of  reproductive  power  is  not  a  fatal  one. 

The  growth  movements  of  the  dandelion  provide  excel- 
Growth  Move-  ^®^^  material  for  testing  the  powers  of 
ments  of  the  observation  and  inference  of  the  senior 
Dandelion.  class 

PR.  TO.  '  26 


402  THE    TEACHING    OP    NATUKAL    HISTORY. 

The  relative  position  of  the  stamens,  style,  and  stigma 
of  florets  in  various  stages  of  growth  should  be  noted  and 
carefully  drawn.  Attention  should  then  be  confined  to 
one  particular  floret,  and  the  pupils  should  find  out  that 
each  floret  passes  through  the  various  stages  previously 
observed.  The  time  taken  to  pass  through  each  stage 
should  be  written  down.  Pupils  of  our  own  noticed 
the  stage  where  the  style  and  stigma  were  wholly  within 
the  anther-tube.  Two  days  later,  the  style  was  peeping 
through  the  tube,  and  pollen-grains  were  adhering  to  the 
outside  of  the  style.  In  two  days  more  the  stigmas  were 
outspread,  and  more  pollen  grains  were  on  the  outer  and 
under  sides  of  the  style  and  stigma.  Two  days  later  still, 
the  arms  of  the  stigma  were  bent  completely  round,  and 
thus  pollen  grains  were  sticking  to  the  upper  sides  of  the 
tip  of  the  stigma.  From  such  observations,  and  from 
observing  insects  at  work  on  the  flowers,  the  pupils  are 
placed  in  a  position  to  decide  for  themselves  whether  the 
dandelion  is  insect-pollinated  or  self-pollinated  or  both. 

The  movements  of  the  scape  or  naked  stalk  of  the 
dandelion  should  be  similarly  studied.  The  erect  position 
when  the  plant  is  in  full  flower,  the  prostrate  position  when 
the  flowers  have  faded  and  the  fruits  are  still  unripe,  and 
the  erect  scape  when  the  fruits  are  fully  ripe  should  be 
observed  and  drawn,  and  the  time  that  elapses  between 
each  stage  should  be  carefully  noted,  and  the  benefit  which 
the  plant  obtains  from  these  devices  should  be  elicited  from 
the  pupils. 

The  movements  of  the  ripe  fruits  themselves  should  also 

be  closely  watched.     The  fruit-head  consists 

Tne  Ripe  ^^    ^    number   of    individual   fruits    shaped 

hke   parachutes.      The   lengthening    of    the 

stalks  of  these  silky  parachute-like  fruits  should  be  studied 

in   the    way    indicated   above,  and  also  the   opening  and 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY.  403 

shutting  of  the  silky  hairs  of  the  parachute  dui'iug  fine 

and  wet  weather. 

The  functions  of  i-oots,  stems,  buds,  leaves,  and  flowers 

^^,      „    ,        of   plants    should   all  have  been  studied  to 
Other  Work. 

some  extent  by  pupils  who  have  worked  at 

natural  history  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  school-year. 

The  habits  and  mode  of  life  of  common  examples  of 
the  chief  classes  of  animals,  such  as  a  mammal,  a  bird,  a 
frog,  a  fish,  an  insect,  a  snail,  an  earthworm,  should  also 
have  been  studied,  as  well  as  the  chief  functions  of  the 
higher  animals,  such  as  respiration,  circulation,  and  diges- 
tion. In  connection  with  the  latter  work,  lessons  should 
be  given  on  the  elementary  principles  of  hygiene.  A 
word  of  caution  is  here  necessary.  The  work  thus  out- 
Lined  for  the  pupils  of  the  later  years  is  based  on  the 
assumption  that  they  have  performed  the  work  outhned 
for  the  intermediate  and  earlier  years,  and  have  therefore 
advanced  considerably  in  the  powers  of  observation  and  of 
dra^ving  inferences  and  arriving  at  general  conclusions. 
Such  topics  should  not  be  taken  with  even  the  older  pupils 
in.  a  school  Avhich  is  just  beginning  natui-e  study,  and  in 
which  consequently  no  previous  work  in  the  subject  has 
been  done. 

The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  : — 

Cavers  :  Plant  Biology       3/6  (Clive). 

Cavers  :      Life     Histories     of     Common 

Plants         3/-  (CUve). 

Ganong :  The  Teaching  Botanist  ...  5/-   (Maemillan). 

Hodge:  Nature  Study  and  Life 7/-   (Ginn). 

Hughes-Gibb  :     How    Plants    Live    and 

Work  2/6  (Griffin). 

Miall :  House,  Garden,  and  Field  ...  6/-   (Arnold). 

Miall  :     Object     Lessons     from     Nature 

(2  vols.)      3/-   (Cassell). 


404  THE    TEACHING    OP    NATURAL    HISTORY. 

Miall :  Round  the  Year     3/fi     (Macmillan). 

Osterhaiit :  Experiments  with  Plants   net     5/-      (Macmillan) 

Rennie  :  The  Aims  and  Methods  of  Nature 

Study         3/6     (Clive). 

Scott :  Nature  Study  and  the  Child        ...     6/-      (Heath). 

Agricultural  Education  Committee,  Lon- 
don.     Leaflets  on  Nature  Knowledge. 

Cornell  Universit}^,  Ithaca,  U.S.A.  : 
Leaflets  on  Nature  Study  issued  to 
teachers  and  young  pupils. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE   TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

1.   Mathematics,  at  least  that  branch  of  it  known  as 

arithmetic,  has  perhaps  been  taught  the  most 

Mathematics      thorouffhV  of  all  subiects  in  primary  schools. 

in  Relation  to     „i         i  i  i  .  ^    n- 

Life.  ihere  has  always  been  a  strong  reeling  that 

a  groimdiug  in  arithmetic  is  a  sound  prepara- 
tion for  effective  and  useful  living.  Of  this  there  can  be 
little  doubt.  Hardly  any  branch  of  human  activity  exists 
in  which  the  measurement  of  form,  position,  or  quantity  is 
not  required,  and  the  more  such  activity  advances  in  com- 
plexity and  demands  oi'ganised  scientific  consideration  the 
more  is  exact  mathematical  measurement  essential  to  suc- 
cessful effort.  For  all  matter  has  position,  shape,  and 
size,  and  the  movement  of  matter  under  the  influence  of 
force  is  determined  in  direction,  space,  and  time.  From 
this  it  follows  that  the  successful  and  economical  adapta- 
tion of  the  material  environment  to  our  wants  and  desires 
necessitates  a  more  or  less  exact  determination  of  the  posi- 
tion, shape,  and  size  of  material  bodies,  and  a  calculation 
of  the  character  and  amount  of  force  required  to  bring 
them  from  one  condition  to  another. 

The  art  of  mathematics,  then,  is  the  art  of  economical 
living,  of  Uving  without  waste,  of  determining  exactly  in 
position,  form,  and  quantity  what  you  require  and  precisely 
fitting  your  means  to  accomplish  your  aims  in  the  most 

^  By  W.  P.  Welpton,  B.So. 
405 


406  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

effective  manner,  wlietlier  it  be  in  getting  the  utmost  out  of 
a  weekly  wage,  or  in  building  a  bridge  to  span  a  mighty 
river.  Social  life,  indeed,  would  break  down,  or  rather  it 
would  never  have  risen  to  its  present  complex  organisa- 
tion, if  mathematics  did  not  make  equivalent  exchanges  of 
goods  possible  by  providing  means  for  calculating  values. 

The  position  of  mathematics  in  life  activity  being  deter- 
mined, it  simj)ly  remains  to  decide  the  kiad 
Mathematics  g_^^  amount  of  mathematics  required  by  the 
School.  pupils   of    the   primary    school.      What   is 

taught  must  fit  them  for  their  future  lives. 
At  least  enough  must  be  taught  to  make  them  effective  and 
economical  managers  of  households,  whilst  still  more  must 
be  included  to  render  possible  an  intelligent  and  critical 
interest  in  mimicipal  and  national  finance.  To  satisfy 
such  needs  would  not  make  any  great  demands  on  the 
time-table.  Little  would  be  required  beyond  the  four 
rules,  the  tables  of  money,  weights,  and  measures  in  com- 
mon use,  the  manipulation  of  simple  fractions  and  deci- 
mals, with  proportion  and  percentages,  and  their  application 
to  problems  of  domestic,  municipal,  or  national  interest. 

The  work  of  the  j)rimary  school,  however,  is  more  than 
this.  It  should  not  only  provide  for  the  exigencies  of 
domestic  and  social  life,  but  should  secure  a  sufficiently 
broad  basis  for  future  utilitarian  life.  Certainly  it  is  no  part 
of  the  work  of  the  primary  school  to  give  any  specialised 
training  for  any  particular  trade  or  business,  still  it  is 
quite  within  its  scope  to  lay  a  broad  foundation  on  which 
any  svich  future  specialised  training  may  be  built.  Most 
crafts,  trades,  and  professions  require  skill  in  some  form 
of  measurement,  and  ability  in  calculation — an  accuracy  in 
skill  and  an  ability  in  calculation  beyond  those  required  for 
ordinary  domestic  and  social  life.  A  preparation  for  such 
skill  and  ability  must  ba  provided  by  the  primary  school, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  407 

aud  this  must  be  of  a  sufficiently  broad,  advanced,  and 
practical  character  to  make  it  possible  for  the  pupils  on 
leaving  school  to  take  advantage  of  any  training  for  a 
special  trade  or  business  they  may  afterwards  receive, 
either  in  trade  or  technical  school,  or  in  the  workshop 
itself. 

Something  more,  then,  is  required  than  the  theory 
of  arithmetic  and  geometry.  Practical  work  is  essential 
both  in  giving  some  skill  in  measuring  such  things  as 
space,  weights  and  densities,  and  in  rendering  the  theory  of 
arithmetic  and  geometry  intelligible.  But,  above  all,  it  is 
only  by  practical  work  in  measuring  bodies  of  different 
kinds  and  with  respect  to  different  attributes  that  the 
pupil  can  be  brought  into  effective  relation  to  his  material 
world.  He  must  realise  that  successful  work  depends 
on  exact  measurement,  and  for  this  to  be  a  guiding 
principle  of  his  futm-e  conduct  it  must  become  part  of  his 
mental  and  moral  fibre  by  constant  and  thorough  practice 
throughout  growing  youth. 

However  much  the  demands  of  the  child's  future  life 

appeal  to  the  teacher,  they  appeal  but  little 

Mathematics  to  the  bov  as  he  passes  from  infancy  to 
in  Child  Life.  .1        i  i         i  i 

youth,  although    as    he    grows    older    his 

imagination  begins  to  dwell  more  and  more  on  future  pos- 

sibihties.     It  is,  however,  the  wants  and  needs  and  desii-es 

of  his  present  life  that  absorb  him.     He  can  only  give  a 

willing  interest  to  what  he  feels  to  be  of  value  now  and  to 

have  some  practical  motive — in  short,  to  what  will  give  him 

some  better  command  over  his  present  activities.    And  this, 

indeed,  is  the  true  aim  of  school  instruction.     However 

much  future  life,  its  possibiHties  and  circumstances,  be  the 

aim  of  the  teacher,  such  aim  is  only  to  be  attained  by 

inspiring  the  pupil  to  live    his    present    life  as  fully,  as 

rationally,  aud  as  thoroughly  as  he  can.     To  live  through 


408  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

a  full  complete  life  of  child,  of  boy,  and  of  youth  to  man- 
hood is  the  best  and  only  fitting  preparation  for  a  true 
life  as  a  man. 

Mathematical  teaching,  then,  should  appeal  to  the 
interests  of  boyhood,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to  develop  them 
to  something  higher,  more  exact,  and  more  perfect.  The 
mode  of  teaching  should  by  tactful  criticism  and  sympa- 
thetic encouragement  inspire  the  pupil  to  realise  his  present 
practical  interests  more  thoroughly  and  more  rationally. 
For  example,  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  boyish  instincts 
is  that  of  construction.  He  loves  nothing  more  than  to 
make  things.  To  draw  out  such  an  instinct,  to  direct  and 
guide  it  to  a  higher  and  more  rational  plane,  is  part  of  the 
work  of  mathematical  teaching.  Let  us  suppose  he  wishes 
to  make  a  box.  To  do  this  in  a  thorough  and  rational 
manner  would  demand  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  and 
construction  of  a  right  angle,  into  the  exact  detennination 
of  length,  area,  cubical  contents  and  weight,  besides  requir- 
ing a  knowledge  of  woods  and  manipulative  skill  in  work- 
ing with  them.  Indeed,  a  whole  system  of  geometric  and 
arithmetical  knowledge  is  necessai-y  before  such  a  desire  can 
be  adequately  realised.  It  is  in  perfecting  such  activities 
as  this  that  mathematical  teaching  makes  its  connection 
with  the  present  life  and  interests  of  the  pupils,  and  it  is 
out  of  such  practical  problems  as  this  that  the  theory 
of  mathematics  should  spring.  Theory  exists  simply  to 
render  practice  more  intelligent  and  rational,  more  orga- 
nised and  exact.  Hence  its  problems  should  arise  out  of 
the  demands  made  by  practical  work,  and  should  lead  back 
to  such  work  to  make  it  more  effective. 

Such,  then,  must  be  the  harmonious  relations  between 
the  aim  of  the  teacher  and  the  aim  of  the  pupil,  between 
the  theory  and  the  practice  of  mathematics.  The  rational 
and  full  future  life  of   manhood  is  the  evolution  of  the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  409 

rational  and  full  life  of  the  boj,  whilst  theory  springs 
and  develops  out  of  practice.  Only  by  carrying  out  tliis 
principle  with  judgment,  tact,  and  sympathy  in  his 
teaching  can  the  teacher  induce  the  pupil  to  brino-  real 
interest  and  intelligent  appreciation  to  his  work.  Only  so 
will  the  child  come  to  understand  mathematical  concep- 
tions in  their  fulness.  We  know  clearly  and  completely 
only  what  we  can  apply  efPectively,  and  this  principle  holds 
in  the  realm  of  practical  as  well  as  in  that  of  theoretical 
application.  By  actually  working  with  a  thmg  we  dis- 
cover its  hmitations,  what  it  really  is,  and  how  much  we 
can  and  cannot  do  with  it.  Without  such  a  connection 
with  practice  theory  is  merely  something  in  the  air,  an 
intangible  elusive  myth. 

2.  We  must  now  consider  one  view  of  mathematical 
training  that  is  very  widely  held.  It  is 
fs'a  Mentaf  ^^'"'"^'^  universally  believed  that  mathe- 
Discipline.  matics  provides  an  excellent  mental  disci- 
pline, especially  in  reasoning;  that  it 
sharpens  the  intellect,  making  it  more  alert  and  active, 
and  that  it  leads  to  habits  of  concentration  and  applica-' 
tion.  That  those  who  work  thoroughly  through  a  course  of 
mathematics  do  benefit  by  it  mentally  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  but  there  is  much  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact 
nature  of  that  benefit.  That  it  provides  no  direct  general 
training  in  reasoning  is  very  cei-tain.  Of  that  modei-u 
psychology  has  no  doubt.  There  is  no  faculty  of  reasoning 
which  when  sharpened  and  tempered  by  mathematics  can 
be  applied  to  reasoning  in  other  matters.  A  good  mathe- 
matician is  not  necessarily  a  good  statesman  or  a  sound 
psychologist,  any  more  than  a  skilled  painter  is  on  that 
account  an  expert  tea- taster,  though  both  are  good 
observers  in  their  own  particular  sphere.  Yet  by  ma- 
thematics  a  power   has    been   gained  that  is  universally 


410  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

applicable  in  all  mental  operations.  The  activity  of  atten- 
tion is  fundamental  to  all  intellectual  life,  and  tlie  power 
of  concentration  and  application  developed  to  a  habit  by 
mathematical  work  wiU  lead  a  pupil  to  attack  a  new 
subject  and  to  progress  with  it  more  effectively  than  if  no 
such  habit  had  been  acquired. 

Though    mathematics    has   no    direct    and    immediate 

effect   in  enabling   a   student   to  reason  in 

The  Training      other  subiects,  yet  it  has  an  indirect  influ- 

of  a  Critical  t+   +     ^  ^  ;i        *i  •    i 

Power.  ence.      it  tends  to  render   the  mind   more 

analytically  critical  in  aU  its  thought.  More 
nearly  than  any  other  subject  mathematics  approaches 
the  form  of  a  perfect  deductive  science,  in  which  every 
conclusion  is  inferred  from  evidence  which  can  readily  be 
brought  to  light  and  examined.  Its  conclusions  are  based 
either  on  facts  definitely  given  by  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  or  already  known  and  proved  with  respect  to  it,  or 
else  assumed  as  axioms  or  postulates.  Such  facts  are 
continually  being  systematically  organised  in  its  formal 
definitions  explicitly  and  exactly  stated  in  words,  and  its 
assumptions  are  continually  being  analysed  into  the 
simplest  and  most  fundamental  intuitions,  and  on  these 
the  whole  structure  of  its  proofs  rests.  Intelhgeutly  and 
thoroughly  to  study  a  series  of  such  highly  rigorous  proofs 
and  exact  statements  of  ideas  is  to  realise  what  is  meant  by 
valid  thought  and  exact  language,  and  such  a  standard  once 
formed  in  the  mind  is  bound  to  react  in  some  measure  on 
the  general  mode  of  thinking  in  other  matters. 

If,  moreover,  tlie  teaching  goes  beyond  this  and  leads  the 
pupils  not  merely  to  reason  about  mathematical  relations 
but  to  study  the  nature  of  the  thought  itself,  to  consider 
not  only  the  statement  of  the  definitions  and  axioms  of 
mathematics  but  also  their  logical  nature,  not  simply  to 
reason  out  the  proofs  but  to  realise  the  valid  nature  of 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  41  1 

those  proofs,  then  a  definitely  conscious  ideal  of  language 
and  thought  will  have  been  formed  which  can  be  con- 
sciously applied  to  every  matter  of  daily  hfe.  Continued 
exercises  of  such  a  character  will  develop  the  habit  of 
examining  critically  conclusions  arrived  at  and  thus 
becoming  conscious  of  their  limitations  and  approximate 
accuracy.  Such  a  critical  power  so  developed  should  be 
a  great  help  in  guarding  a  pupil  against  ambiguities  in 
language  and  fallacies  in  argument. 

Some  such  logical  training  seems  in  this  democratic  age 
necessary  for  all.  Public  opinion  now-a-days  has  so  much 
influence  in  guiding  the  fortunes  of  a  nation  that  a 
standard  of  vaUd  and  clear  thought  and  a  power  to  probe  to 
the  bottom  of  an  argument  and  test  its  worth  is  a  very 
necessary,  but  still  very  rare,  equipment  for  every  citizen. 

It  might  with  some  show  of  justice  be  said  that  science 

or  history  could  iust  as  easily  give  this  in- 
Suitability  of      .,,,/,..*'      ^  i    +     •    • 

Mathematics      tellectual  tramiug.     Some  such  trammg  it  is 

to  train  quite  certain  they  can  give,  but  mathematics 

ica     ower.  Qp^upies   a    special    place    in    this    respect. 

Mathematics  is  above  all  other  subjects  of  school  study  an 

exact  and  precise  science,  its  reasonings  form  a  standard 

towards  which  all  other  sciences  look  with  envy.    Hence  the 

study  of  mathematics  will  consciously  and  unconsciously 

set  up  an  ideal  of  valid  thought  more  perfect  than  that 

given  by  the  study  of  less  exact  bodies  of  knowledge.     On 

this  ground  alone  mathematics  woidd  hold  its  own  as  a 

mental  discipline,    yet  it  has  further   claims  for  special 

consideration.     The   study   of   the   forms   of  thought  in 

mathematics  is  specially  appropriate  for  pupils  in  primary 

schools.     The    relations    involved  are    not    complex    and 

involved  as  they  are  in  the  case  of  the  natural  and  social 

sciences,  being   simply  those  of  measurement  and   form. 

The  child  from  his  early  years  is   constantly   axjting   on 


412  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

his  perceptions  of  size  and  sliape,  and  soon  learns  to 
abstract  tliose  qualities  and  think  of  them  by  themselves. 
Having  such  simple  and  familiar  relations  to  deal  with  he 
can  advance  with  comj)arative  rapidity  to  those  higher  and 
more  abstract  workings  of  the  intelligence  peculiar  to  de- 
ductive reasoning,  and  without  great  difficulty  can  make 
the  further  abstraction  of  considering  the  form  of  thought 
itself. 

In  history  and  in  natural  science  the  case  is  very  different. 
In  these  subjects  the  relations  are  complex,  involved,  and 
less  familiar,  and  hence  not  easily  isolated  in  thought; 
consequently  the  pupil's  stay  in  the  lower  stages  of 
intelligence  is  more  protracted.  He  spends  a  longer 
time  in  accumulating  facts  and  becoming  familiar  with 
them,  while  the  work  of  analysing  these  facts  is  decidedly 
more  difficult.  Hence  the  pupil  in  a  primary  school  never 
advances  in  these  subjects  to  that  stage  of  intelligence 
in  which  deductive  reasoning  predominates.  For  these 
reasons  mathematics  stands  out  pre-eminently  as  the  sub- 
ject whose  study  in  the  primary  school  lends  itself  most 
readily  to  the  formation  of  definite  standards  of  thought, 
and  to  the  training  in  habits  of  critical  analysis. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  importance  of  such 
intellectual  training  has  not  escaped  the  notice  of  some  of 
our  most  prominent  statesmen.  In  the  course  of  a  piiblic 
address '  Mr.  John  Morley ,  recognising  perhaps  how  easily 
the  public  can  be  swayed  this  way  or  that  by  any  passing 
wind,  recommended  that  a  judicial  habit  of  mind  be  trained 
by  a  critical  study  of  certain  selected  law  cases  of  general 
interest.  He  thought  it  well  that  people  in  this  age  should 
have  some  clear  notions  as  to  the  value  of  evidence  and 
how  far  conclusions  could  be  justified  by  the  evidence  in 
any  particular  case.     There  seems,  however,  no  reason  why 

^  Essay  on  Popular  Culture  in  Critical  Miscellanies,  \o\.  III. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  413 

teachers  sliouki  go  beyond  the  subject-matter  of  tlie  school 
curriculum  to  provide  such  a  training. 

Mathematics,  as  we  have  seen,  oifers  a  good  field  for  sucli  a 
critical  examination,  and  much  may  be  said  in  favour  of  the 
critical  study  of  the  form  of  reasoning  employed  in  natural 
science,  since  this  is  largely  inductive,  while  mathematical 
reasoning  is  deductive.  It  would  be  a  useful  exercise  to 
examine  and  weigh  selected  arguments  from  such  a  book 
as  Darwin's  Voyage  of  the  Beayle,  to  lead  the  pupils  to 
realise  with  what  care  observed  facts  have  to  be  examined 
and  compared  before  general  conclusions  can  justly  be 
inferred  from  them,  and  how  tentatively  such  conclusions 
should  be  held.  In  such  ways  is  promoted  an  attitude  of 
mind  which  should  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  forming  of 
conclusions  in  all  lessons  in  natural  science. 

Pupils,  especially  when  young,  cannot  be  expected  to  be 
Interest  of  interested  in  mathematics  merely  as  a  mental 
Pupils  in  discipline,  though  when  future  life  and  its 

Intellectual  purposes  begin  to  loom  immediately  ahead 
they  can  to  some  extent  appreciate  this  aspect 
of  the  study.  The  practical  view  of  mathematics  will 
always  take  precedence  with  the  boy,  and  hence  the  mental 
discipline  side  of  the  teaching  must  be  incidental  and  not 
be  forced  too  much  to  the  front.  Pupils  can,  however,  be 
interested  to  some  degree  in  solving  problems  for  the  simple 
pleasure  of  conquest,  a  pleasure  analogous  to  the  delip-ht 
in  such  games  as  chess  and  draughts.  Pleasure  is  in  the 
intellectual  exercise  itself  and  in  tlie  victories  such  exercise 
wins.  Most  of  us  have  felt  the  glow  of  pride  in  evolving  a 
'  neat '  proof.  Such  interest,  however,  is  only  sustained  by 
feelings  of  confidence,  power,  and  elation,  which  are  the  re- 
wards of  success.  There  is  a  sense  of  victory  in  overcoming' 
difficulties  and  knowing  oneself  to  be  superior  to  them. 
To  make  use  of  such  forms  of  interest  in  mathematical 


414 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 


teaching  the  teacher  must  incite  intellectual  effort  by  work 
suflBciently  difficult  to  call  it  forth.  Difficulties  must  be 
faced  by  the  pupils.  Variety  and  oi'iginality  in  the  prob- 
lems are  essential.  Each  new  problem  should  present 
some  fresh  element  on  which  thought  may  operate.  Quick, 
neat  methods  of  working  should  be  the  ideal,  clumsy  round- 
about methods  should  be  scorned.  The  mechanical  solution 
of  sums  and  problems  worked  according  to  certain  known 
types  soon  becomes  a  monotonous,  uninspiring  drudgery. 
3.  Mathematics  in  the  primary  school  divides  itself  into 

„,  _  ^.  two  parts — Ai'itliraetic,  the  science  and  art 
The  Connection     „      ^  .  -,    ^  ,        , 

between  o^   measurement,  and  Geometry,  the  theory 

Arithmetic  and  and   construction   of   form.      No  hard   and 
^^'  fast  line  of  demarcation  separates  the  teach- 

ing of  these  two  branches.  To  determine  the  position, 
shape  and  size  of  material  objects  necessitates  the  mea- 
suring of  lengths,  areas,  and  volumes.  Besides  this,  the 
geometrical  representation  of  shape  in  the  form  of  plans, 
elevations  and  isometric  drawings ;  of  varying  quantities 
such  as  temperatm-e  and  barometric  pressure  by  means  of 
graphs ;  of  forces  and  velocities  by  hues,  involves  not  only 
geometric  but  arithmetical  considerations. 

A  very  close  connection  should,  then,  be  maintained 
between  the  teaching  of  arithmetic  and  the  teaching  of 
geometry.  This,  of  course,  is  most  possible  in  the  practical 
work.  The  practical  problems  of  life  must  deal  at  one  and 
the  same  moment  with  the  position,  shape,  and  size  of 
things,  though  in  theoretic  contemplation  we  may  abstract 
the  form  from  the  size  and  give  each  our  separate  con- 
sideration. It  will  be  convenient  however  to  divide  the 
discussion  on  the  teaching  of  mathematics  into  (a)  the 
Teaching  of  Arithmetic,  (b)  the  Teaching  of  Geometry, 
although  in  considering  practical  applications  diversions 
from  one  to  the  other  will  frequently  be  made. 


THE    TEACniNG    OF    MATHEMATICS.  415 

In  laying  down  courses  of  arithmetic  and  geometry  it 
must  constantly  be  borne  in  mind  that  no  detailed  scheme 
is  applicable  to  every  kind  of  school.  The  circumstances 
and  needs  of  the  scholars,  the  age  at  which  their  school 
life  ends,  whether  they  leave  to  go  to  work  or  to  attend 
some  higher  school,  are  all  factors  that  must  decide  the 
details  of  a  course.  The  amount  and  kind  of  mathematics 
suitable  for  boys  are  not  appropriate  to  girls.  The  power 
of  abstract  thinking  seems  to  come  later  and  in  a  weaker 
form  in  girls  than  in  boys.  To  these  considerations  due 
weight  must  be  given  in  drawing  up  courses  of  mathematical 
study  for  girls,  and  the  scheme  we  are  about  to  lay  down, 
which  is  primai-ily  intended  for  boys,  should  be  modified 
accordingly.  Again,  in  schools  in  working-class  neighbour- 
hoods more  emphasis  should  be  laid  on  practical  measure- 
ments than  on  the  theory  of  arithmetic  and  geometry, 
although  the  latter  should  not  be  altogether  neglected. 
All  that  can  here  be  done  is  to  set  forth  the  main  outlines 
of  a  course  which  should  be  modified  in  the  details  to  suit 
the  special  characteristics  of  each  school. 

4.  In  all  natural  mental  development  practice  precedes 
Development  ^^^^^^J'  ^^^  ^  working  notion  is  the  germ  of 
of  Arithmetic     ''^^  exact  conception.     An  exact  conception  is 

from  Empiric     the  final  goal,  and  is  the  outcome  of  a  careful 
to  Kational.  i     •       j?  ^i  i  • 

analysis  of  the  working  notion,  thus  making 

thought  more  accurate  and  deductive,  and  practice  more 

rational.     On  account  of  the  simple  and  familiar  character 

of  arithmetical  conceptions  it  is  possible  in  the  primary 

school  to  progress  to  this  final  goal  of  conceptual  thinking 

and    of    a    practice    based    on   an    exact    knowledge    of 

universal  relations.      Eoughly  speaking,  then,  there  will 

be  two  stages  in   tlie  teaching  of   arithmetic,  but   since 

exact  conceptions  do  not  spring  into  being  at  any  definite 

moment  of  time,  lut  are  a  gradual  evolution  from  the 


416  THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS. 

indefinite  through  various  stages  of  clearness  to  the 
definite,  there  cannot  be  any  exact  point  of  Lime  which 
divides  the  two  stages.  The  stage  of  working  notions 
grasped  empirically  will  by  gradual  analysis  evolve  into 
the  stage  of  exact  conceptions  grasped  by  the  reason. 
Yet,  remembering  this  restriction,  it  is  convenient  to  con- 
sider the  two  istages — the  Empirical  and  the  Rational — 
separately.  The  period  of  school  life  when  the  one  has 
distinctly  passed  into  the  other  in  mathematics  may  be 
roughly  placed  somewhere  about  the  age  of  ten  or  eleven. 
6.  The  aim  of  the  first  or  empiric  stage  in  the  teaching  of 
arithmetic  is  to  give  the  pupils  a  working 

v^Zi^  c+o^^    notion  of    number,    of  its   numeration   and 
Empiric  Stage.  ' 

notation,  and  of  the  opei-ations  of  addition, 
subtraction,  multiplication,  and  division  ;  to  secure  that 
these  notions  spring  from  the  practice  of  measuring 
quantities  of  various  kinds  and  lead  back  to  it ;  and  to 
make  sure  that  a  basis  for  effective  future  work  is  laid  in 
a  thorough  memorising  of  all  the  necessary  tables,  and 
in  making  quite  automatic  the  different  operations. 
Pupils  in  this  stage  cannot  be  expected  thoroughly  to 
understand  everytliing  they  do.  To  spend  time  at  the 
beginning  in  making  every  notion  and  operation  perfectly 
clear  to  the  understanding  is  to  waste  time.  For,  after 
all,  understanding  is  relative  to  the  stage  of  intelligence, 
and  it  is  more  important  that  by  constant  practice  the 
power  of  rapid,  accurate,  and  confident  calculation  be 
gained  than  that  every  sum  should  form  the  text  for  a 
sermon  on  notation  and  the  theory  of  calculation.  This, 
however,  is  not  an  argument  for  rule-of -thumb  working. 
Nothing  could  be  farther  from  our  intention  and  nothing 
is  more  deadening  than  such  a  procedure.  We  simply 
wish  to  emphasise  that  all  that  can  be  expected  at  this 
stage   is   a  working   notion,  and  not  a  perfectly  definite 


THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS.  417 

and  clear  conception.  A  working  notion  means  a  notion 
understood  up  to  a  certain  point,  and  which,  as  the  name 
suggests,  is  used  in  working.  It  would  seem,  then,  that 
intelligence  is  rather  to  be  employed  in  the  application  of 
such  a  notion  to  practical  affairs  than  in  the  understanding 
of  its  exact  content  and  limitations. 

6.  Number  is  a  notion  that  springs  out  of  measurinc'. 
Measurement.  ^^  measuring  a  quantity,  whether  it  be  a 
collection  of  things,  or  size,  or  weight,  the 
mind  starts  with  the  whole  thing  to  be  evaluated  and 
divides  it  into  parts,  and  the  quantity  is  measured  by 
counting  the  number  of  the  parts  in  the  whole. 

The  division  into  parts  may  be  a  physical  one,  as  in 
counting  a  pile  of  pence,  or  only  mental,  as  in  measuring 
the  length  of  a  wall.  Naturally  with  young  pupils  physical 
division  aids  the  mind  in  its  work  of  thinking  the  whole  as 
made  of  parts.  It  is  easier  for  a  child  to  think  of  a  cube 
as  being  made  of  eight  smaller  cubes  when  the  cube  can  be 
physically  divided  than  when  the  division  has  to  be  left  to 
the  imagination.  Physical  distinctions,  however,  may  be 
so  pronounced  that  they  increase  the  difficulty  the  small 
child  has  in  thinking  the  parts  into  a  whole.  He  cannot 
at  first  think  of  a  table,  a  pen,  and  the  room  as  a  whole  of 
three  objects.  The  task  of  bringing  three  such  different 
things  together  into  one  group  is  too  much  for  his  imma- 
ture powers  of  abstraction.  For  this  reason  the  child 
needs  aid  in  his  first  dealings  with  number.  Things  to  be 
counted  should  be  as  much  alike  as  possible,  and  when 
they  are  put  together  to  make  a  whole  the  continuity  of 
the  whole  should  be  obvious  to  his  eye.  It  is  advisable, 
therefore,  that  the  abacus  with  which  he  is  taught  number 
and  the  operations  with  number  shoidd  not  be  made  of  a 
number  of  balls  but  of  a  number  of  cubes,  so  that  wiien 
placed  together  they  form  a  visibly  continuous  whole. 
PR.  TG.  27 


418  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

The  perception  of  number,  then,  arises  out  of  an  activity 
of  the  mind :  it  is  the  mind  working  on  what 
it  sees  and  handles  or  hears,  and  evaluating 
it  in  terms  of  something  familiar  and  convenient.  It  is 
not,  however,  mere  seeing  and  handhng  and  hearing.  The 
mere  sensation  of  six  separate  sounds  would  never  give 
the  idea  of  six  unless  the  mind  thought  the  six  into  a 
whole  and  yet  kept  each  one  distinct.  There  is  a  double 
movement,  an  analysis  of  a  whole  into  parts,  and  a  syn- 
thesis of  the  parts  into  a  whole,  and  the  mind  performs 
such  an  operation  on  what  it  sees  and  hears  and  handles 
when  an  evaluation  of  a  whole  is  necessary  for  the  exact 
attainment  of  some  end. 

Number,  then,  takes  its  root  in  practical  working 
with  material  things  to  adapt  them  more  exactly  and 
perfectly  to  our  ends.  Our  forefathers  had  to  plot  out 
their  land,  so  they  invented  the  rod  or  pole ;  to  count  theii" 
cattle,  so  they  invented  number.  Practical  necessity 
drove  them  to  measuring,  and  a  similar  necessity  should 
drive  children  into  their  own  first  crude  attempts.  The 
early  teaching  of  number  should  be  entirely  in  connection 
with  the  construction  with  bricks  and  sticks  of  various 
objects  such  as  castles,  houses,  churches,  gardens.  The 
children  should  be  encouraged  to  estimate  the  number  of 
bricks  required  for  this  side  or  for  that  pillar,  and  to 
divide  the  bricks  into  two  or  four  parts  according  to  the 
number  of  walls  to  be  built. 

Measurement  we  have  seen  to  be  the  dividing  of  a  whole 
into  parts,  and  the  counting  the  parts  to  evaluate  the 
whole.  This  principle  of  measuring  should  be  carried  out 
from  the  beginning  in  all  teaching  of  number.  The  child 
should  take  a  whole  thing,  and  with  his  hands  divide  it 
into  parts.  At  first  it  will  be  two  parts,  then  three,  then 
more.     To  begin  with  one  object  and  proceed  to  two  by 


THE    TEACHINa    OF    MATHEMATICS.  419 

adding  another,  and  so  on,  is  not  measuring.  No  true  idea 
of  nvimber  or  of  unit  can  come  out  of  such  a  mode  of 
teaching.  The  Froebellian  cube  should  not  be  built  up 
out  of  its  parts  by  adding  one  to  another,  it  should  be 
taken  as  a  whole  and  measured  by  dividing  it  into  two 
parts,  then  each  of  these  into  two,  then  each  of  these  again 
into  two.  Similar  operations  of  dividing  wholes  into  parts 
should  be  performed  with  all  the  mateiial  used  in  kinder- 
garten operations — squares,  triangles,  collections  of  beads, 
and  sticks. 

In  thus  beginning  with  a  whole  and  dividing  it  into 
parts  emphasis  is  laid  on  the  true  idea  of  a 
unit.  A  unit  is  a  part  of  a  whole  used  to 
measure  that  whole.  It  may  be  a  single  object,  as  in  count- 
ing fifteen  apples ;  or  a  group  of  objects,  as  in  counting 
in  scores  or  dozens  ;  or  even  a  fraction  of  an  object,  as  in 
I  of  an  apple,  where  the  unit  is  ^  of  the  apple,  and  in  5% 
of  the  cost  price,  where  yo^^^  ^^  ^^i®  ^ost  price  is  the  unit. 
The  size  of  the  unit  may  change  at  pleasure  or  may  vary 
from  an  inch  or  a  fraction  of  an  inch  to  a  multiple  of  a 
mile,  which  is  the  unit  in  the  problem  :  How  many  days 
will  a  man  take  to  walk  from  Leeds  to  London  at  twenty 
miles  a  day  ? 

From  the  very  beginning  care  must  be  taken  in  teaching 
number  lest  the  pupil  acquire  the  notion  that  things  are 
always  measured  in  ones,  and  this  idea  is  sure  to  be  formed 
if  the  synthetic  method  of  adding  one  to  one,  and  so  on,  be 
employed.  He  should  be  practised  in  dividing  the  foot- 
rule  into  two,  three,  four,  and  six  parts ;  his  desk  into  two 
or  three  lengths  of  the  foot-rule;  a  pile  of  beads  or  beans 
into  similar  numbers  of  parts.  The  size  of  the  parts  is 
immaterial ;  he  is  not  at  first  asked  to  measm'e  these  :  he 
is  dealing  with  their  niimber. 

Such  a  mode  of  beginning  will  not  confine  the  pupil  for 


420  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

many  months  to  dealing  with  numbers  of  objects  up  to  ten. 

Much  larger  numbers   can  be   dealt  with   by   separating 

them  into  groups.     When  a  child  has  mastered  two  by 

dividing   things   into  two  parts  he  has  the  material  for 

grasping  four,  for  four  is  simply  two  groups  of  two  ;  after 

which  he  can  proceed  to  deal  with  three.     Similarly,  when 

he  has  mastered  foiir  he  can  understand  four  groups  of 

four,  although  he  cannot  grasp  it  as  one  ten  and  six  ones. 

His  power  over  large  numbers  is  much  increased  when 

he  has  been  taught  ten.    The  whole  range  of 
Numeration.  ,  ,  i       j     j    •     at,  j. 

number  up  to  one  hundred  is  then  open  to 

him.  He  can  group  things  in  tens — as  two  tens,  three  tens, 
and  so  on — and  can  readily  pass  to  the  more  conventional 
language,  twenty  and  thirty.  It  may  be  argued  that  such 
a  number  as  one  hundred  is  not  within  the  mental  grasp  of 
a  young  child.  This  is  true  if  by  '  mentally  grasping '  a 
hundred  is  meant  visualising  it  as  one  hundi'ed  separate 
things.  Even  an  adult  cannot  do  this.  We  think  a  large 
number  by  grouping  it.  Ninety-six  is  nine  tens  and  six 
ones,  or  twelve  eights,  or  eight  twelves.  Such  power  of 
grouping  the  child  can  gain,  and  should  from  the  beginning 
be  encouraged  to  extend.  When  he  has  learnt  ten  he  can 
think  of  ten  groups  of  ten  in  each  group,  and  in  that  way 
can  deal  with  considerable  numbers  of  things. 

In  dividing  collections  of  objects  into  groups  of  ten  he 
frequently  finds  one,  two,  three,  and  more  objects  over, 
and  so  the  numbers  are  filled  up  from  10  to  20,  20  to 
30,  and  so  on  to  100.  The  names  of  these  numbers,  except 
those  from  eleven  to  nineteen,  present  little  difiiculty.  They 
are  readily  imderstood  as  indicating  the  system  of  group- 
ing ;  thus  eighty-six  is  eight  tens  and  six  ones.  Care 
is  constantly  required  at  first  in  dealing  with  names  like 
fourteen.  The  children  are  apt  to  confuse  fourteen  and 
forty,  thinking  that  each  means  foiu"  tens. 


tHBl    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  421 

By  such  a  metliod  of  teaching,  the  language  of  number 
presents  few  difficulties.  It  merely  em- 
phasises the  grouping  in  tens.  The  verbal 
language,  as  has  been  shown,  becomes  clear  with  very  little 
help,  and  when  written  notation  is  begun  it  will  appear  as 
a  natural  expression  for  the  mode  of  grouping.  It  does 
not  seem  necessary,  then,  to  adopt  any  special  devices  for 
teaching  the  ordinary  tens  notation. 

7.  Addition   and    subtraction   arise  out  of   comparison 

of  things.  At  first  it  is  a  crude  comparison 
Subtracticm       ^^    ^^^^^    being   more    than   that — larger  or 

smaller,  longer  or  shorter.  When  the  idea 
of  number  has  arisen  this  comparison  can  become  more 
exact.  The  ideas  of  subtraction  and  addition  arise  at 
the  same  time,  the  one  being  the  inverse  of  the  other. 
The  notion  of  7  and  5  together  making  12  involves  the 
notions  of  12  being  5  more  than  7,  and  7  more  than  5. 
Indeed,  to  add  together  7  and  5  and  to  find  the  difference 
between  12  and  7  is  the  same  process  of  counting  from 
7  up  to  12,  only  in  the  first  case  the  final  attention  is  on 
the  aggregate  12  and  in  the  latter  on  the  difference  5. 
Thus,  subtraction  should  always  be  taught  as  the  inverse 
of  addition  ;  that  is,  as  the  process  of  finding  the  number 
which  added  to  the  less  will  make  the  greater. 

8.  No  fundamental  difference  exists   between   addition 

and  multiplication  or  between  subtraction 
fnd^DiSo^''    and  division.     Multiplication  is  addition  in 

groups  of  more  than  one  and  division  is 
subtraction  in  groups  of  more  than  one.  Division,  then, 
is  the  inverse  process  to  multiplication.  Though  funda- 
mentally the  same  process  of  counting,  multiplication  and 
division  are  an  advance  on  addition  and  subtraction.  The 
idea  of  a  quantity  being  a  number  of  times  another  quantity, 
which  is  the  essence  of  the  two  former,  is  not  present  in  the 


422  THE   TEACHING    Of    MATHEMATICS. 

two  latter.  There  is  distinctly  brought  to  consciousness  in 
multiplication  and  division  the  idea  of  ratio  or  '  number 
of  times,'  an  idea  which  finds  its  fullest  expression  in 
fractions. 

Though  multiplication  and  division  are  an  advance  on 
addition  and  subtraction,  there  is  no  need  to  delay  the 
teaching  of  the  former  until  the  latter  are  mastered.  In 
working  with  cubes,  sticks,  and  beans,  the  ideas  of  a  whole 
being  divided  into  parts  and  of  the  whole  being  a  number  of 
times  the  parts  will  soon  be  grasped,  and  only  systematic 
encouragement  is  needed  for  such  an  idea  to  take 
organised  form  as  multiplication,  division,  and  simple 
fractions.  Then  the  four  fundamental  operations  can 
progress  side  by  side.  For  example,  in  considering  six 
objects — cubes,  sticks,  or  beans — they  may  be  measured 
as  two  three's  or  three  two's  ;  they  may  be  divided  into 
parts  of  five  and  one,  four  and  two,  three  and  three  ;  and 
exercises  may  be  founded  on  these  physical  operations, 
which  can  be  expressed  in  the  form — 

6  =  5  +  1=4  +  2  =  3  +  3  =  2  +  2  +  2. 

6=1  +  5  =  2  +  4  =  3  +  3  =  2  +  2  +  2. 

6-5  =  1,     6-4  =  2,     6-3  =  3, 
6-2  =  4,     6-1  =  5. 

6  +  2  =  3,     6  +  3  =  2. 
2x3  =  6,      3x2  =  6. 

i  of  6  =  3,     t  of  6  =  2. 

This  method,  however,  must  not  be  confused  with  the 
mode  of  teaching  number  which  begins  with  the  number 
one  and  takes  each  number  up  to  twenty  in  succession, 
subjecting  each  to  a  rigid  analysis.  Even  if  tlie  analysis 
be  performed  with  the  aid  of  objects,  it  cannot  lead  to 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  423 

true  ideas  of  number  and  unit  because  it  is  not  founded 
on  measuring  a  whole.  It  confines  the  unit  to  one  thing, 
and  thus  limits  the  activity  of  the  child's  mind  in  grasp- 
ing large  numbers  by  means  of  grouping.  It  leads  to  a 
dry  uninteresting  grind  for  months  at  an  endless  analysis 
of  a  few  numbers,  easily  learnt  in  themselves,  and  from 
which  the  child  can,  and  should,  progress  to  grasping 
larger  numbers.  All  that  can  be  said  for  such  a  method 
— and  this,  indeed,  is  its  main  attraction — is  that  it  is 
systematic,  and  aims  at  so  memorising  the  component 
parts  of  numbers  that  calculation  becomes  automatic. 
9.  Systematising  of  the  results  of  the  child's  manipula- 
tion of  cubes  and  sticks  is  an  essential  part 
Systematising  Qf  good  teaching,  and  should  be  followed 
Memorising.  ^J  effective  memorising.  All  future  work 
depends  on  the  success  of  such  teaching. 
The  child  should  know  by  heart  the  composition  of 
every  number  up  to  twenty,  so  that  with 
Subtraction  quickness,  accuracy,  and  confidence  he  can 
perform  the  addition  and  subtraction  of 
smaller  numbers.  There  should  be  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  the  sum  of  7  and  8  is  15,  or  that  it  requires  6  to  be 
added  to  8  to  make  14.  All  such  operations  within  the 
limits  of  twenty  should,  by  frequent  and  continual  practice, 
be  made  automatic.  On  such  an  automatic  basis  the  pupil 
can  advance  with  success  to  operating  with  numbers  up  to 
one  htmdred.  Such  operations  he  should  be  taught  to 
perform  mentally.  Thus  in  adding  29  and  35  he  will 
think :  29  and  30  is  59  and  5  more  is  64 ;  and  in  subtracting 
38  from  76  he  will  think  8  added  to  38  makes  46  and  30 
more  makes  76.  Rapid  mental  work  of  this  kind,  a  little 
at  a  time,  but  frequent  and  varied  in  character  so  as  to 
sustain  interest,  will  soon  make  all  calculating  within  a 
hundi'ed  quite  automatic. 


424  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

At  the  same  time  the  multiplication  tables  should  be 
built  up  from  the  results  of  his  experience 
and  mviston.'^  ^  measuring  the  various  kinds  of  material 
he  has  been  using.  A  great  help  in  this  is  a 
knowledge  of  the  law  of  commutation,  though  its  name 
should  not  be  used.  By  grouping  a  number  of  objects  it 
is  made  clear  to  the  child  that  3  things  taken  4  times 
equals  4  things  taken  3  times.  The  principle  should  be 
mastered  by  examining  several  such  cases  of  grouping. 
By  applying  it  the  labour  of  making  the  tables  will  be 
reduced  by  at  least  one  half.  The  ten  times  table  should 
be  the  first  to  be  learned.  The  child  can  learn  it  im- 
mediately he  has  mastered  grouping  in  tens. 

As  the  table  is  built  up  it  should  be  effectively  memorised. 
Its  use  should  be  made  perfectly  automatic.  Without 
such  arithmetical  automatism  progress  will  be  but  halt- 
ing and  slow,  and  will  continually  break  down  at  crucial 
moments.  Nothing  so  worries  and  disheartens  a  teacher 
as  to  find  his  pupils  slow,  stumbling,  and  wanting  in 
confidence  because  the  early  memorising  of  the  tables  has 
been  faulty,  and  this  is  equally  discouraging  to  the  pupils 
themselves. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  learn  the  tables  as  tables.  The 
frequent  repetition  of  a  table  as  a  table  makes  the  saying 
of  it  as  a  whole  habitual,  so  that  frequently  a  pupil 
cannot  give  any  particular  Hne  without  starting  from  the 
beginning,  and  that,  of  course,  is  not  to  have  a  command 
of  the  table.  Each  line  of  the  table  should  be  known 
independently  of  every  other  line,  and  this  can  never  be 
secured  if  the  lines  are  not  memorised  separately.  More- 
over 4  and  9  should  lead  automatically  to  the  product  36, 
whether  one  thinks  of  4  or  of  9  first ;  similarly  36  shovdd 
lead  automatically  to  the  factors  4  and  9,  as  well  as  12 
and  3,  and  6  and  6.     Such  memorising  is  best  done  by 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 


425 


constant  and  frequent  practice  of  each  item  or  a  few  items 
at  a  time  in  quickly  working  varied  mental  problems. 
Each  statement  should  be  grasped  in  all  its  aspects 
and  used  in  many  different  ways.  For  example,  the 
exercises  on  3  x  4  =  12  might  be  such  as — 

Divide  12  nuts  among  4  boys. 

Divide  12  nuts  into  heaps  of  4  nuts  each. 

3  boys  had  4  nuts  each  ;  how  many  altogether  ? 

4  boys  had  3  nuts  each ;  how  many  altogether  ? 
Find  a  third  of  12  and  a  quarter  of  12. 

What  is  3  tens  taken  4  times  ;  4  dozen  taken  3  times  ? 

How  many  thirties  in  twelve  tens  ? 

How  many  times  is  36  contained  in  twelve  dozen  ? 

Divide  twelve  quarters  by  three  and  by  four. 

Grive  all  the  factors  of  12. 
Such  practice  as  this  for  a  few  minutes  daily  will 
ultimately  lead  to  multiplication  and  division  with 
numbers  up  to  twelve  becoming  quite  automatic,  and 
until  such  habituation  is  reached  no  good  teacher  will 
rest  content. 

The  child's  measurements,  however,  will  not  be  confined 
.to  counting  objects   in    ones  or  in  groups. 
Length,  They  should  extend  over   as   wide  a  range 

Weight,  Money,  as  possible.  Lengths,  weights,  and  money 
*"      "^®*  should  be  in  regular  use  both  in  actual  prac- 

tice and  as  the  basis  of  problems.  The  operations  with 
these  should  be  systematised  in  tables  in  a  manner  similar 
to  that  by  which  the  multiplication  tables  were  constructed. 
These  tables  should  be  the  outcome  of  actually  measuring 
lengths  and  weights,  and  of  dealing  with  money  represented 
by  counters. 

The  foot-rule  is  an  excellent  instrument  upon  which  to 
base  a  large  variety  of  measurements  and  calcidations.  It 
has  already  been  shown  how  it  can  be  measured  as  2  six 


426  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

inches,  3  four  inches,  4  three  inches,  6  two  inches.  Simi- 
lar operations  can  be  performed  with  a  yard  measure, 
which  can  be  measui'ed  in  feet,  or  in  units  of  9,  6,  4,  3,  or 
2  inches.  These  results,  worked  with  the  actual  yard- 
measure  and  its  divisions  before  them,  can  be  made  the 
basis  of  a  great  variety  of  practice  in  multiplication  and 
division.  Similar  practice  can  be  obtained  with  weights 
and  with  money. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  this  first  period,  then,  the 
actual  practical  measvirements  and  the  problems  based  on 
such  measurements  will  be  in  relation  to  the  systems  of 
measurement  in  common  use  in  daily  life. 

The  tables  of  weights,  lengths,  money,  and  time  should 
be  effectively  memorised  in  such  a  way  that  a  child  can  use 
automatically  the  fractional  parts  of  a  shilling  and  pound, 
of  a  foot  and  yard,  of  an  ounce,  poimd,  and  stone,  and  of 
an  hour  and  day. 

10.  Working  with  these  tables  involves  the  changing 
from  one  unit  to  another.  This  change 
Reduction  from  ^y^jj  come  as  no  surprise  to  pupils  who  have 
Another.  been    consistently  taught   to  regard  a  unit 

as  any  group  of  things  convenient  for  mea- 
surement, and  its  expression  in  a  distinct  notation  will 
satisfy  a  felt  want.  To  group  things  into  tens,  dozens,  or 
scores,  pence  into  shilKngs  and  pounds,  inches  into  feet, 
and  ounces  into  pounds  avoirdupois,  to  change  from  one 
kind  of  grouping  into  another,  will  only  be  a  natui-al 
development  of  the  early  teaching.  Carrying  from  ones 
to  tens,  pence  to  shillings,  inches  to  feet  will  not  seem  to 
be  juggUng  with  figures,  but  will  appear  as  a  greater  con- 
venience and  as  the  natural  and  proper  thing  to  do. 

Practice  in  clianging  units  should  be  as  wide  and  as 
varied  as  possible  and  should  call  into  play  all  the  frac- 
tional parts  of  shilling  and  pound,  foot  and  yard,  ounce 


THE    TEACHING   OF   MATHEMATICS.  427 

and  pound  avoirdupois,  day,  hour,  and  minute.  Mental 
work  of  this  kind  increasing  in  difl&culty  will  form  an 
excellent  preparation  for  the  longer  calculations  by  Simple 
and  Compound  Practice,  which  are  only  more  complex 
forms  of  the  same  kind  of  operation. 

In  calculating  by  '  Practice  '  the  pupils  should  be  taught 
to  work  either  by  means  of  addition  or  subtraction,  which- 
ever is  found  to  be  the  more  convenient;  for  example, 
85  articles  at  17/6  =  85  times  (10/-  +  5/-  +  2/6),  but  85 
times  (dSl  —  2/6)  will  be  more  quickly  worked. 

11.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  teaching  of  arithmetic  to 
the  younger  pupils  will  be  mental  work,  and 
Written  ■y;y^th  uvunbers  within  the  Hmits  of  one  him- 

Arithmetic°.  ^^'^^  ^^^^J  should  be  able  to  work  a  very 
great  variety  of  problems  involving  opera- 
tions with  all  the  rules  and  tables.  Grradually,  however, 
the  written  forms  of  arithmetical  language  must  be  taught, 
at  first  by  being  used  on  the  blackboard,  afterwards  by 
the  pupils  on  paper.  The  written  work  will  be  exactly 
of  the  same  character,  difficulty,  and  complexity  as  the 
mental  work,  until  the  pupils  become  quite  familiarised 
with  the  written  form  of  arithmetical  language.  It  is  thus 
at  the  beginning,  not  a  question  of  teaching  a  new  kind 
of  work,  but  only  of  teaching  a  new  language  for  what  can 
already  be  done  mentally  and  expressed  in  verbal  language. 
All  forms  of  mathematical  symbols  should  be  taught,  such 
as  +,  — ,  X ,  -i-,  =,  and  the  fractional  form  as  in  i. 

When  the  pupils  have  become  quite  familiarised  with 
this  written  language  they  should  advance  to  working  sums 
and  problems  of  greater  length  and  complexity.  The 
difiiculty  of  dealing  mentally  with  large  numbers  and  com- 
plex operations  will  be  an  obvious  justification  to  the  child 
for  written  arithmetic,  whilst  its  convenience  as  a  means  of 
commimicating  arithmetical  processes  and  results  to  others 


428  THE   TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

may  easily  be  made  manifest  to  him.  In  written  work 
only  those  operations  and  steps  should  be  given  which  the 
pupil  finds  necessary  either  in  assisting  his  memory  or  in 
making  clear  to  a  reader  the  line  of  mathematical  reasoning 
by  which  he  reaches  his  results. 

The  method  of  working  addition,  subtraction,  multipli- 
cation, and  division  in  written  work  should  always  be  the 
most  convenient,  not  simply  for  present  work,  but  in  refer- 
ence to  future  needs. 

Many  methods  are  employed  in  working  subtraction,  and 
pupils  can  readily  understand  and  gain  pro- 
ficiency in  any  of  them.  The  most  convenient 
method  for  future  needs  is  that  of  complementary  addition. 
This  method  follows  naturally  from  considering  subtrac- 
tion as  the  inverse  opei'ation  of  addition,  and  this  we  have 
seen  is  the  most  logical  way  of  thinking  subtraction.  In 
finding  the  difference  between  29  and  52  this  method 
proceeds  by  asking :  What  must  be  added  to  29  to 
make  52  ?  Beginning  with  the  ones  column  first,  the 
child  should  think  9  and  3  is  12,  giving  1  ten  to  carry  to 
the  2  tens  and  requiring  2  tens  more  to  make  5  tens. 

In  written  multiplication  it  is  usual  to  begin  multiplying 

by  the  ones  figure  first  and  to  proceed  with 
Multiphcation.   ,/     ^  t  u-  i  i        •  i  mi 

the  figures   oi  higher  value  m  order.     The 

most  convenient  method,  however,  is  to  begin  with  the 
figure  of  greatest  place  value,  because  such  a  mode  of  work- 
ing is  essential  to  the  teaching  of  approximations,  which 
shovild  come  later  in  school  life.  The  method  is  shown  as 
follows — 

785 
32 

2355 
1570 

25120 


THE    TEACHING    Ol'    MATHEMATICS.  429 

Division  we  have  seen  to  be  a  mode  of  subtraction.     In 

.  .  dividing  2892  by  6  we  proceed  to  subtract  in 

sixes,  4  liuudi'ed  sixes  being  subtracted  first, 

then  8  tens  of  sixes,  and  finally  2  sixes.     This  operation  of 

subtracting  is  fully  set  forth  in  the  long  form  of 

__^82      expression,  and  hence  this  form  as  being  more 

612892      complete  than  the  shortened  form  should  precede 

— „       it  in  the  teaching. 
49 
48  When  the  natui-e  of  this  operation  has  been 

12  grasped  and  the  pupils  have  become  familiar  with 
12  the  steps  the  long  form  of  expression  may  be  re- 
placed by  the  shortened  form.  On  this  plan  of 
teaching  the  pupils  have  no  diflBculty  in  understanding 
long  division  when  its  use  is  demanded  by  a  large  divisor. 
The  placing  the  figures  of  the  quotient  above  the  figures 
of  corresponding  place  value  in  the  dividend  makes  it 
easier  for  the  child  to  realise  the  place  value  of  each  figure 
and  is  the  surest  means  of  avoiding  the  omission  of  0  when 
it  occurs  in  the  quotient. 

In  working  problems  the  writing  should  show  the  im- 
portant  steps  of  the  solution,  and  the  num- 
bers written  should  be  sufficiently  labelled 
to  make  their  application  clear.  Nothing,  however,  of  the 
mechanical  calculation  should  be  written  which  can  be 
done  mentally. 

It  is  important  in  working  problems  that  the  pupils 
should  think  out  the  whole  method  of  the  solution  before 
they  put  pen  to  paper,  and  should  do  this  not  simply  in  a 
concrete  form  as  applying  to  this  partictdar  example,  but 
in  a  general  form  as  applying  to  aU  problems  of  this  kind. 
Doing  this  will  encourage  their  advance  to  general  forms 
of  expression  from  which  the  step  to  symbolic  expression 
will  be  easy..  By  the  pupils  beginning  thus  early  to  use 
general  forms  of  expression  in  simple  cases  the  advance  to 


430  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

generalised    arithmetic,    and   finally   to   algebra,   will   be 

made  very  gradual,  besides  which  these  symbolic  forms 

will  then  appear  as  a  shorter  and  more  convenient  form 

than  words.      A  suitable  method  of   written   expression 

for   problems   which  will   secure  all  these  advantages  is 

illustrated  in  the  following  example  :  A  man  buys  8  lbs. 

of  tea  at  3s.  per  lb.  and  sells  it  for  £,2.     What  is   his 

gain? 

Gain  =  Selling  Price  —  Cost  Price. 

=  40s.         —         24s.  =  lGs. 

12.  Just  as  the  mechanical  part  of  mental  work  can  only 

become  automatic  by  constant  and  frequent 

^"^j  «7^-?J^^*^'  practice,  so  the  mechanical  part  of  written 

and  Written  i  • 

Arithmetic.        work  requires  a  large  amount  of  practice  to 

secui-e  quick,  accurate,  and  confident  manipu- 
lation of  figures.  This  part  of  the  teaching  of  arithmetic 
may  suitably  be  called  '  di-ill,'  for  its  object  is  to  produce 
perfect  mechanism.  Perfect  written  work  of  this  character 
can  only  result  from  a  good  basis  of  mental  automatism,  and 
every  means  should  be  employed  to  make  mental  calcula- 
tion as  unhesitating,  as  accurate,  and  as  rapid  as  possible. 
A  few  minutes  at  the  beginning  of  every  arithmetic  lesson 
should  be  devoted  to  this  mental  drill,  which  should  be 
made  as  varied  and  progressive  as  the  ingenuity  of  the 
teacher  can  devise.  In  written  work,  as  has  been  said,  the 
pupils  should  not  be  permitted  to  work  calculations  on 
paper  that  they  are  able  to  do  mentally.  In  this  way  the 
memory  for  figures  and  the  concentration  of  attention  on 
working  with  them  will  be '  developed.  Drill  in  written 
work  will  be  less  frequent  than  mental  drill,  but  it  is  a 
form  of  exercise  that  is  at  times  useful.  Long  calculations 
involving  the  four  rules  will  encourage  habits  of  care  and 
accuracy,  and  give  such  practice  in  manipulating  figiu-es  as 
will  lead  to  rapidity  and  confidence. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  431 

13.  It  has  been  our  desire  so   far   to   sliow   that   the 

teaching  of  arithmetic  should  arise  out  of 
Aiithm^tic         ^^^  ^^^  ^^  measuring  and  lead  back  to  it. 

In  the  primary  teaching  of  number  it  is 
hoped  that  we  have  indicated  sufficiently  clearly  how  the 
theory  of  number  should  develop  out  of  the  child's  prac- 
tical constructions.  This  connection  between  the  practical 
activities  of  the  child  and  the  teaching  of  arithmetic 
should  be  maintained  throughout.  The  teaching  should 
endeavour  at  all  stages  to  give  the  pupil  a  more  exact 
command  over  the  problems  of  practical  life.  With  this 
principle  in  view  we  have  already  advocated  that  the 
sums  and  problems  to  be  worked  should  bear  on  the 
measurement  of  things  in  common  daily  use  either  in 
school,  at  home,  or  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  measui'e- 
ments  should  not  be  confined  to  those  of  money,  but  should 
extend  to  those  of  length,  weight,  cubic  capacity,  and  time. 
Not  only  should  these  tables  form  the  basis  of  mental 
and  written  work,  but  a  considerable  amount  of  practical 
measuring  slioidd  give  reality  to  theory. 

The  foot-rule  and  yard-measure  should  be  in  frequent 

use  in  measuring  the  lengths,  widths,  and 
ofTenffth^^'^  ^    heights  of  desks,  cupboards,  windows,  doors, 

walls,  and  other  articles  in  the  school  or  near 
it,  and  these  measurements  should  be  brought  into  pro- 
blems for  mental  and  written  work  requiring  the  operations 
of  multiplication  and  division  as  well  as  those  of  addition 
and  subtraction. 

In  measuring  lengths  the  pupils  should  not  always  be 
dependent  on  the  foot  or  yard  measm-e,  and  they  should 
be  trained  to  judge  distance  with  the  eye  with  approximate 
accuracy.  There  are  plenty  of  objects  in  the  class-room 
and  playground  on  which  they  can  practise  to  this  end. 
They  should  learn  to  estimate  longer  distances  by  stepping. 


432  THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS. 

Tlie  measurement  of  objects  will  lead   on   to,  and  be 
combined  with,  the  expression  of  their  shape 
Drawing  of        in   a   plan.      The    meaning    of    a   plan   in 
OuuLea  to        expressing  position  and  contour  is  taught  in 
Scale.  connection  with  tlie  geography.     The  pupils 

should  at  first  draw  the  plan  of  a  cube,  ink- 
well,  or  book,  by  tracing  round  the  edge  of  the  object, 
afterwards  di'awing  their  plans  entirely  from  measurement. 
The  idea  of  drawing  to  scale  must  be  grasped  early,  for  in 
the  course  on  geography  the  form  of  a  country  or  county 
has  to  be  expressed  by  means  of  a  small  model  and  a 
small  map,  which  should  be  examined  side  by  side.  No 
new  idea  is  involved,  for  the  pupils  are  quite  familiar 
with  pictures  and  photographs  being  smaller  than  the 
objects  they  represent,  and  are  aware  that  the  parts  of 
the  picture  must  be  in  proportion.  As  soon  as  they  have 
grasped  the  principle  that  the  proportion  of  the  parts 
must  be  preserved  they  can  begin  drawing  to  scale.  This 
will  be  about  the  third  year. 

To  be  of  real  value,  drawing  to  scale  should  be  from 
actual  measurements  of  an  object.  The  pupils  should 
work  out  the  scale  to  which  the  object  should  be  drawn  by 
comparing  the  size  of  the  object  with  the  size  of  the  paper. 
Moreover,  considerable  ingenuity  needs  to  be  exercised  in 
many  cases  in  selecting  the  most  sviitable  lines  in  the  object 
for  measurement.  The  aim  of  the  pupils  should  be  to  take 
only  those  measxrrements  which  are  absolutely  essential. 
The  greatest  accuracy  both  in  measuring  and  in  drawing 
should  be  insisted  on.  This  accuracy  can  be  tested 
by  the  pupils  making  calculations  from  their  draw- 
ings. A  number  of  lines  in  the  drawing  not  previously 
measured  should  be  measured,  and  the  length  of  the 
corresponding  lines  in  the  object  calculated.  By  com- 
paring  the  result  of   these   calculations  with  the  actual 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  433 

measured  lengths  of  the  lines  in  the  object  some  idea 
will  be  obtained  of  the  accuracy  of  drawing  or  of 
measuring.  The  constructive  ingenuity  of  the  pupils  can 
be  exercised  by  their  designing  simple  objects,  such  as  a 
table,  cupboard,  or  bookcase,  to  fit  certain  parts  of  the 
room,  and  suited  for  some  definite  purpose. 

Practical  work  in  measuring  weight  and  cubical  capacity 
is  not  so  easy  to  organise,  but  such  practical 
Measurements  work  is  necessary  if  the  pupils  are  to  realise 
Cubicaf  ^^  fully  the  meaning  of  ounce  and  pound,  pint 
Capacity.  and  quart.    By  handhng  objects  the  pupils 

should  be  trained  to  estimate  their  approxi- 
mate weight,  and  by  looking  at  vessels  to  judge  their 
probable  capacity. 

A  number  of   money  counters  should  be  in  use,   and 

interesting  practice  can  be  obtained  by 
Measurements    <i        •  i        >     t      j.-l-  •  •^ 

in  Monev  keeping  shop.      in  this  exercise  one  pupil 

should  come  before  the  class  with  piles  of 
counters  for  coins  arranged  in  order  of  value.  He  has  to 
imagine  himself  a  grocer  or  draper  or  some  other  trades- 
man: other  pupils  in  turn  come  out,  and  in  imagination 
buy  various  articles,  stating  the  amount  they  require  and 
the  price  per  pound,  ounce,  or  yard  they  wish  to  pay. 
Then  they  present  a  coin  and  request  change.  The  whole 
class  should  perform  the  calculation,  and  quickness  and 
accuracy  can  be  encouraged  by  allowing  the  first  who  calcu- 
lates the  change  correctly  to  take  the  place  of  the  shop- 
keeper until  ousted  by  a  quicker  rival.  The  articles  asked 
for  should  be  those  in  common  use,  and  the  prices  quoted 
those  usually  current,  so  that  the  pupils  will  become 
familiar  with  the  value  of  common  things,  and  acquire 
quickness  in  calculating  the  amount  of  a  bill  and  the 
change  required — an  acquirement  theii'  parents  will  doubt- 
less appreciate  at  its  full  value. 

PR.  TO.  28 


434  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

14.  We  have  seen  that  by  about  the  fifth  year  of  school 
life  the  pupils  should  be  advancing  into  the 
RaTional  Staee  I'^^ional  stage  of  arithmetic.  They  should, 
dufing  the  early  years,  have  attained  good 
working  notions  of  quantity,  unit,  and  ratio,  though 
these  terms  should  not  have  been  submitted  to  them 
for  exact  examination,  and  should  be  quite  familiar 
with  notation,  the  four  rules,  and  simple  fractions, 
with  all  the  tables  in  daily  use  and  with  operations  on 
those  tables. 

These  working  notions  should  now  be  subjected  to  a  rigid 
analysis,  so  that  clear  conceptions  may  be  attained.  The 
decimal  notation  and  the  fractional  expression  should  be 
extended  to  their  widest  limits.  With  the  fundamental 
notions  of  measuring  and  of  the  modes  of  expressing  its 
results  made  definite  and  clear,  the  pupils  vnll  have  a  firm 
ground  from  which  they  can  proceed,  by  strict  deductive 
reasoning,  into  the  higher  branches  of  arithmetical  measure- 
ment. In  this  higher  stage  new  and  more  complex  kinds 
of  quantities  have  to  be  measured,  requiring  different  kinds 
of  units,  but  no  new  principles  of  measurement  wiU  be  in- 
volved. The  method  of  dealing  with  these  quantities  will 
need  but  a  direct  application  of  the  principles  now  to 
be  set  forth.  In  this  application,  however,  the  new 
quantities  to  be  measured  must  be  carefully  examined, 
their  nature  made  clear,  and  the  kind  of  unit  necessary  to 
measure  them  considered.  For  example,  in  measuring 
Simple  Interest  the  pupils  should  first  examine  the  relation 
of  the  interest  to  the  principal  and  time  in  a  particular 
case.  They  will  find  it  varies  directly  with  each,  and  are 
thus  prepared  to  suggest  an  appropriate  kind  of  unit  for 
measuring  interest,  and  to  appreciate  how  the  unit  or  rate 
of  interest  is  a  certain  fraction  of  the  principal  paid 
yearly. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  435 

This  method  of  teaching  the  new  kinds  of  measurements 
in  this  stage  must  not   be  confused   with  the  so-called 
'Deduction   from  a  number  of   examples'  so  frequently 
advocated.     The  two  methods  are  diametrically  opposed. 
The  latter  is  in  reality  an  Induction  by  Analogy,  and  in 
practice  it   too   often    degenerates   into   the   mere   fami- 
liarising the  pupils  with  a  rule  by  working  a  number  of 
simple  examples,  the  essential  resemblances  between  the 
instances  being  never  laid  bare  by  a  careful  examination 
of  any  one  case.     It  is  by  a  close  analysis  of  the  nature  of 
the  quantity  and  the  unit  of  measurement  that  a  clear, 
definite,  and  general  rule  of  working  will  be  reasoned  out 
by  the  pupils.     This  analysis  can  frequently  be  aided  by 
considering  a  concrete  example  as  a  type,  but  this  is  only 
in  order  that  there  may  be  some  definite  point  or  centre 
on  which  to  fix  the  attention.     Even  concrete  examples  as 
types  are  not  always  necessary,  the  pupils  being  quite  cap- 
able of  concentrating  theii-  attention  on  the  simpler  ideas 
when  expressed  in  general  tei-ms,  and  whenever  possible  this 
should  be  done  without  resort  to  methods  more  suited  to 
pupils  in  the  lower  and  empiric  stage. 

We  may  consider,  then,  that   as   the   pupil   advances 

rnt.    T,  ^^^^  *^^®  region  of  definite  conceptions  he  is 

me  Progress      i  •  ,  ^  , 

to  Symbols.        becoming  more  and  more  prepared  to  think 

them  in   the   abstract,  and   to  use  general 

terms  in  referring  to  them  and  to  operations  performed 

with  them,  and  from  this  is  but  a  step  to  the  still  more 

abstract  symbolic  forms.     We  have  already  shown  that 

pupils  of  eight  or  nine  can  be  led  to  express  the  working 

of   problems   in   a   general   form,   from   which   they  can 

soon     pass    to    formulating    a    rule    by    considering    a 

general  case  and   then  expressing   it   symbolically.      For 

example,  in  working  out  the  rule  for  measuring  Simple 

Interest: — 


436  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

Interest  for  a  number  of  years 

=  — n  of  Principal  x  number  of  years. 

Symbolised,  this  becomes 
1=  jil^  of  Pxn. 

From  this  tliey  can  pass  to  such  problems  as  — 

If  P  be  lent  for  n  years  at  r  °/o  per  annum,  Avhat  is  the 
interest  ? 

If  I  be  the  interest  on  £,P  for  n  years,  what  is  the 
interest  on  £iP  for  1  year,  and  on  ,£100  for  1  year  ? 

If  I  be  the  interest  on  £,P  at  r  °/^,  what  is  the  interest 
on  .£100  for  one  year,  and  on  £P  for  1  year ;  and  what  is 
the  number  of  years  for  <£P  to  gain  I  ? 

If  J  be  the  interest  for  n  years  at  r  °/q,  what  is  the 
interest  on  .£100  for  n  years,  and  what  is  the  number  of 
pounds  that  will  produce  I  interest  ? 

The  problems  to  be  worked  should  frequently  refer  to 
general  quantities ;  for  example  :  Find  the  cost  of  papering 
a  room  h  yards  high,  6  yards  broad,  I  yards  long  at  r/-  per 
square  yard ;  or  in  a  yet  more  advanced  form :  State  in 
symbolic  terms  a  rule  for  finding  the  difference  between 
the  number  of  revolutions  of  two  unequal  bicycle  wheels 
in  going  a  certain  distance.  The  latter  problem  should 
be  worked  as  follows  : — 

Let  B  and  r  be  the  radii  of  the  two  wheels  : 

Then  ^ttB  and  2-!rr  will  be  the  circumferences  ; 

No.  of  Eevolutions  in  going  distance  D  =  - — -^  and : 

*=       ^  2TrB         27rr' 

Difference  =  q^^  "  2^   =  2V  (^  "  s)" 

Every  type  of  rule  and  problem  can  be  treated  in  a 
similar  way,  and  such  exercises  are  a  most  convenient  and 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  437 

suitable  stepping-stone  to  algebra.  In  the  pupils'  minds 
the  symbols  will  stand  for  well  understood  quantities,  and 
the  operations  performed  will  be  grasped  as  relating  these 
quantities  in  certain  definite  ways. 

Though  becoming  more  rational,  more  abstract,  and 
more  symbolic,  the  teaching  should  none  the 
The  Progress  j^gg  ^im  at  bringing  the  pupils  into  con- 
Measurement,  tinually  fuller  touch  with  actual  measuring. 
The  practical  work  in  this  higher  stage 
should  be  of  a  more  exact  and  complex  character  than  in  the 
lower.  Indirect  measuring  involving  the  use  of  formulae 
and  calculation  will  take  the  place  of  direct  measuring. 
The  pupils  will  measure  inaccessible  distances  such  as 
height  of  a  tree  or  house,  regular  and  irregular  areas  and 
volumes,  densities  of  various  bodies  by  various  methods, 
forces  as  applied  in  the  lever,  inclined  plane,  and  pulley. 
Thus  the  arithmetic  will  be  of  a  very  broad  character, 
bringing  the  pupil  into  more  thorough  and  varied 
relations  with  the  real  world  of  things,  from  which 
he  can  learn  something  of  their  nature  and  so  turn  them 
to  use. 

This  later  stage  of  arithmetic,  then,  should  witness  a 
twofold  advance — an  advance  in  depth  and  rationality  of 
treatment,  and  in  complexity  and  extent  of  measurement. 
The  former  will  begin  by  an  analysis  of  the  process  of 
measuring  to  search  out  the  relations  between  quantity, 
unit  and  number,  and  to  establish  the  principles  governing 
the  notation  of  number,  the  expression  of  number  in  a 
fractional  form,  ratio,  proportion,  and  percentages.  These 
principles,  when  taught,  will  be  applied  to  the  measuring 
of  various  new  kinds  of  quantities  increasing  in  complexity 
of  measurement,  while  the  rules  deduced  for  operating 
with  them  will  be  summarised  in  symbolic  form  for 
future  use. 


438  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

15.  The  pupils,  then,  will  begin  with  tlie  relation  be- 
tween quantity,  unit,  and  number.     These 
The  Relation      motions  spring  out  of  a  careful  analysis  of 
Quantity,  the  act  of  measuring.     It  has  already  been 

Number,  and  ^^q^^  that  a  whole  is  measured  by  being 
divided  into  a  number  of  equal  parts,  and 
the  evaluation  is  the  number  of  times  the  whole  contains 
one  of  the  parts.  In  measuring  a  whole  quantity  there  is 
a  comparison  of  one  quantity  with  another — the  whole  with 
the  part — and  the  result  of  that  comparison  is  number. 
Number  is,  then,  the  ratio  between  the  whole  measured 
and  the  unit  of  measurement  and  is  obtained  by  dividing 

the  whole  by  the  unit,  thus : —  N  =  ^. 

Thus  a  whole  is  measured  by  a  fraction  of  itself  and 
its  quantity  estimated  by  the  number  of  such  fiuctional 
parts.  For  example,  to  measure  a  field  as  8  acres  is  to 
measure  it  by  one-eighth  of  itself,  and  this  relation  can  be 
expressed  as  foUows  :  the  field  =  8  acres,  or  1  acre  =  1/8 
of  the  field,  or  the  field  =  8/8  times  the  field.  Thus  a 
unit  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  whole  is  a  fraction,  and 
the  n\miber  of  such  fractional  parts  in  the  whole  is  the 
ratio  of  the  whole  to  the  unit. 

In  measm-ing,  however,  it  is  usual  to  fix  on  certain 
quantities  as  standard  units  and  to  evaluate  all  quantities 
in  terms  of  these.  By  having  a  common  and  familiar  unit 
quantities  can  be  more  conveniently  compared  with  each 
other  by  referring  them  to  this  unit,  when  the  relation  be- 
tween the  numbers  will  indicate  the  relation  between  the 
quantities. 

For  examples,  if  two  quantities  A  and  B  be  measured 
by  reference  to  the  common  unit,  one  foot,  as  12  ft. 
and  5  ft.  ;  then  the  number  of  times  A  is  contained 
inB 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  439 

A      12  ft.       12 

or  yl  is  -—  times  B, 
5 

5 
or  5  is  -—  times  A. 

To  measure  quantities  by  tlie  same  unit  implies  that  the 
quantities  are  of  the  same  kind.  Two  objects  may  be 
compared  as  to  quantity  in  various  ways — in  length,  weight, 
or  value.  The  length  of  one,  however,  cannot  be  com- 
pared directly  with  the  weight  or  value  of  the  other,  but 
only  with  its  length.  Moreover,  these  lengths  cannot  be 
brought  into  arithmetical  relation  unless  they  are  measured 
by  the  same  unit.  For  example,  4  yards  can  only  be 
brought  into  ratio  Avith  5  feet  when  botli  are  expressed  in 
yards  or  feet,  as  12  feet  and  5  feet.  Then  we  can  say  one 
is  5/12  of  the  other,  their  sum  is  17  feet,  and  their 
difference  7  feet. 

From  the  notion  of  comparing  quantities  by  reference 
to  the  same  iniit  arises  the  Method  of  Unity.  In  compar- 
ing the  cost  of  five  with  the  cost  of  eight  articles  we  can 
refer  each  to  the  cost  of  one  as  a  standard  unit.  If  then 
we  know  that  the  5  articles  cost  .£3  and  wish  to  estimate 
the  cost  of  8  we  can  say  :  The  cost  of  8  ==  8  times  .£3/5, 
which  statement  is  all  the  pupils  need  to  write  in  their 
books.  The  advance  to  proportion  should  be  made  later 
when  fractions  have  been  thoroughly  considered.  Tlien 
the  statement  will  appear  as — - 

The  cost  of  8  =:  f  times  the  cost  of  5 
,,        ,,       ^^  -g  X  A/O. 

The  pupils  by  that  time  will  be  able  to  understand  that 
8/5  of  .£3  is  the  same  as  8  times  .£3/5. 

This  groundwork  in  the  principles  of  measurement  being 
laid  and  made  famihar  by  practice,  the  pupils  can  advance 


440  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

to  the  consideration  of  the   notation  of   number  and  of 

fractions. 

16.  The  deeper  analysis  of  notation  is  connected  with 

the  teaching  of  Decimals.    The  pupils  should 

The  Decimal  j^y  this  time  be  quite  at  home  with  srroup- 
Notation.  .•'  „  i  •     -T    •      r  -,  »        ^ 

mgs  01  any  kind,  m  tours,  dozens,  scores, 

and  also  with  changing  from  one  system  of  grouping  to 
another.  They  have  now  to  grasp  thoroughly  that  the 
decimal  notation  standardises  grouping  in  tens.  Further- 
more, they  will  be  quite  familiar  with  the  idea  of  a  fraction 
being  a  unit,  and  hence  they  will  have  no  diflBculty  in 
grasping  that  a  systematic  notation  must  arrange  for  a 
progressive  series  of  fractional  units,  a  one  being  divided 
into  ten  parts  giving  tenths,  and  each  tenth  again  into  ten 
parts  giving  hundredths. 

In  operating  with  decimals  several  rules  previously 
taught  should  be  more  fully  examined  and  made  clearer 
by  reference  to  first  principles.  For  example,  only  units 
of  the  same  kind  can  be  added  or  subtracted,  from  which 
it  foUows  that  ones  must  be  placed  imder  ones,  tenths 
under  tenths,  and  so  on.  The  pupils  will  easily  suggest 
that  this  is  best  secured  by  placing  under  one  another  the 
signs  which  indicate  the  point  of  transition  from  whole 
to  fractional  numbers.  Again,  a  figure  of  a  certain  value 
when  multiphed  or  divided  by  a  ones  figure  gives  a  figure 
of  the  same  value.  Thus,  4  tenths  x  3  =  12  tenths.  The 
pupils  should  be  familiarised  with  this  rule  by  working 
such  examples  as  76' 34  x  4  or  -^  3,  from  which  they  should 
pass  to  grasping  the  principle  of  moving  the  decimal  point 
when  multiplying  or  dividing  by  ten  or  any  multiple  or 
power  of  ten,  and  to  becoming  familiar  with  it  by  practice. 
When  this  is  thoroughly  understood  neither  mtdtipU- 
cation  nor  division  by  larger  number  will  present  much 
difficulty. 


THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS.  44] 

Several  methods  ai"e  advocated  for  midtiplying  and 
dividing  decimals.  Simplicity  and  uniformitj  should 
guide  our  choice.  In  multiplication  it  is  simpler  to  keep 
all  decimal  points  under  each  other,  and  more  convenient 
for  future  work  to  begin  multiplying  with  the  figure  of 
highest  value.  In  division  any  system  of  moving  the 
decimal  point  about  is  cumbrous.  The  numbers  should 
be  left  as  they  are  given,  and  the  nature  of  the  answer 
estimated  by  considering  the  values  of  the  divisor  and  the 
dividend.  In  an  example  such  as  97653"84  -r-  2369  the 
divisor  extends  to  tenths,  and  therefore  until  tenths  are 
exhausted  in  the  dividend  the  figures  in  the  quotient  will 
be  whole  numbers.  The  pupils  in  working  the  sum  shoiild 
think :  2369  tenths  divides  into  976538  tenths  a  whole 
number  of  times.  When  the  4  htmdredths  is  reached  the 
next  figure  in  the  quotient  will  be  fractional  and  will  be 
placed  to  the  right  of  the  decimal  point. 

While  the  teaching  of  these  operations  is  going  on,  the 
decimal  notation  should  be  applied  to  mea- 
Svstem  ""^  suring  lengths  and  weights  in  metres  and 
grammes.  The  pupils  should  be  practised 
in  changing  rapidly  from  one  unit  to  another  by  moving 
the  decimal  point,  and  this  operation  is  greatly  aided  by 
arranging  the  table  in  this  form  : — 

Km.  Hm.  Dm.  m.  dm.  cm.  mm. 
18      3      5      6 
from  which  it  can   be   grasped   at  once  that  18356  cm. 
=:  183'56  m.  =  1-8356  Hm.,  and  so  on. 

The  metre-rule  should  be  in  constant  use  to  measure 
doors,  desks,  windows,  and  walls,  and  for  measuring  smaller 
objects  such  as  small  cubes,  cylinders,  and  cones  the 
pupils  should  have  rules  divided  into  cm.  and  mm.  on  one 
side,  and  inches,  twelfths,  and  sixteenths  of  an  inch  on  the 
other. 


442  THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS. 

This  practical  work  will  lead  to  the  consideration  of 
approximations.  In  the  measuring  of  small 
tionT^^"^*  and  large  bodies  the  pupils  will  soon  dis- 
cover that  errors  arise  from  a  variety  of 
causes,  and  the  degree  of  accuracy  which  can  be  obtained 
in  various  cases  should  be  noted.  The  personal  equation 
in  measuring  can  be  shown  by  allowing  all  the  pupils 
to  make  the  same  measurements,  such  as  finding  the 
relation  of  the  circumference  of  a  circle  to  the  radius, 
when  the  discrepancy  in  their  results  will  be  obvious.  All 
practical  measurement  will  thus  be  seen  to  be  only  an 
approximation,  and  from  this  it  is  clear  that  no  calcula- 
tions from  such  measurements  can  attain  a  greater  degree 
of  accuracy.  If,  therefore,  a  length  is  measured  accurately 
to  centimetres  it  is  absurd  to  calculate  from  this  measure- 
ment in  millimetres  except  for  purposes  of  carrying.  It 
is,  therefore,  necessary  in  dealing  with  practical  calcula- 
tions to  teach  the  pupils  the  various  methods  of 
approximating. 

The    comparison    between    the    English    and    French 
systems  of  units  will  serve  to  bring  out  the 
Development      state  of  perfection  to  which  the  science  of 
and  Notation,    arithmetic  has  arrived.     The  examination  of 
the  metric  system  will  have  revealed  that, 
with   ten   figures   combined  with  the    principle   of  place 
value,    any    number,    large    or    small,    whole    or    frac- 
tional, referring  to  any  kind  of  quantity,  can  be  readily 
and  systematically  expressed  in  the  same  notation.     The 
superior  facilities  gained  by  extending  the  decimal  system 
to  all  kinds  of  measurement,  and  the  cumbrous  nature  of 
the  English  system  of  weights  and  measures,  Avill  be  obvious. 
It  will  be  both  interesting  and  instructive  for  the  pupils 
to  work  out  the  development  of  numeration  and  notation 
from  its  earliest  beginnings,  and  the  teacher  should  amply 


THE    TEACHINa    OF    MATHEMATICS.  443 

illustrate  each  stage  by  reference  to  the  various  arithme- 
tical notations  i;scd.  in  past  ages  and  in  other  countries. 
In  this  way  they  will  begin  to  realise  in  some  measure  the 
time  and  thought  expended  in  the  gradual  perfecting  of 
arithmetical  expression  and  calculation.  They  Avill  see  the 
science  of  arithmetic  as  a  thing  of  life  and  growth,  being 
wrought  into  greater  and  greater  perfection  by  many  hands 
in  many  countries  through  countless  yeai's.  They  will  be- 
gin to  appreciate  something  of  the  debt  they  owe,  not  only 
to  their  forefathers,  but  to  such  distant  and  alien  races  as 
the  Hindu  and  Arab. 

To  trace  the  origin  of  numeration  and  notation  the 
pupils  should  try  to  realise  what  it  means  to  know  nothing 
of  numeration  or  of  figures.  They  will  see  that  our  remote 
ancestors,  having  no  system  of  nimibering  already  invented 
for  them,  were  driven  to  count  by  reference  to  some  conveni- 
ent standard  always  available.  Such  a  coimting  instrument 
is  provided  by  the  hands  with  their  ten  fingers.  With  the 
hands  objects  will  be  counted  in  fives  or  in  tens  according 
as  one  or  both  hands  are  employed.  Some  races — as  the 
Eskimo,  the  North  American  Indians,  and  the  native  races 
of  Central  and  South  America — chose  five  as  their  system 
of  grouping.  The  Egyptians,  Hindus,  Greeks,  and 
Romans  chose  ten.  The  advantage  of  the  wider  ten  sys- 
tem will  be  obvious. 

The  pupils  can  now  proceed  to  the  development  of  the  ten 
system.  They  should  imagine  themselves  with  only  their 
ten  fingers  and  a  large  number  of  objects  to  count.  All 
will  go  well  imtil  they  reach  ten  and  begin  to  count  another 
ten,  then  the  need  of  marking  off  the  number  of  tens  will 
present  itself.  They  will  readily  suggest  that  some  symbol 
ormai'k  should  be  taken  to  represent  a  group  of  ten.  At 
first  a  small  pebble  can  be  used.  As  the  pebbles  begin  to 
accumulate  the  necessity  of  counting  these  arises,  and  as 


444  THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS. 

the  fingers  will  not  permit  of  coimting  beyond  ten  a  larger 
pebble  will  be  needed  to  represent  ten  groups  of  ten.  And 
so  the  counting  will  go  on.  Here,  then,  was  one  of  the 
origins  of  the  decimal  system. 

Soon,  names  and  then  written  signs  would  be  invented 
as  modes  of  communicating  numbers  from  man  to  man 
more  convenient  than  pebbles  of  various  sizes.  There 
would  be  a  name  for  every  number  from  one  to  nine, 
then  for  every  group  from  ten  to  ninety  and  so  on.  This 
stage  of  counting  can  be  illustrated  by  showing  to  the 
pupils  many  ancient  systems  of  notation,  such  as  the 
alphabetic  system  of  the  Greeks,  the  Eoman  numerals,  the 
picture  writing  of  the  Egyptians.  By  attempting  to  work 
a  multiplication  or  division  sum  with  such  a  notation  as 
the  Eoman  they  will  soon  begin  to  realise  its  unsuitability 
for  calculation,  and  they  will  be  interested  in  having  illus- 
trated to  them  the  long  and  inconvenient  method  of 
reckoning  by  means  of  counters  or  the  abacus. 

Understanding  the  imperfections  of  these  systems  the 
pupils  will  readily  suggest  that  the  next  great  step  in  the 
growth  of  arithmetic  was  the  invention  of  the  system  of 
place  value.  By  this  invention  they  will  see  that  calcula- 
tion without  the  use  of  counters  or  of  abacus  becomes  pos- 
sible. Here  the  teacher  should  impress  on  the  pupils  the 
debt  we  owe  to  the  Hindu  astronomers  who  first  taught 
this  system  to  the  world,  and  to  the  Arabs  who  preseiwed 
and  perfected  its  use  during  the  long  dark  ages. 

The  development  of  fractions  will  be  very  instructive  as 
throwing  much  light  on  the  respective  merits  of  the  deci- 
mal and  duodecimal  systems.  The  pupils  can  readily 
suggest  the  advantages  arising  from  varying  the  denomi- 
nator systematically  in  descending  powers  of  ten.  The 
superiority  of  twelve  to  ten  should,  however,  be  pointed 
out ;   the  much-used  fractions  i,  i,  i,  and  ^  being  readily 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  445 

and  conveniently  expressed  in  twelfths,  whilst  ^  and  A  are 
only  expressed  in  tenths  by  means  of  recurring  decimals. 
The  teacher  should  here  show  the  duodecimal  system  of 
fractions  used  by  the  Romans,  which  lingers  in  the  terms 
inch  (j3^  of  a  foot)  and  ounce  (y2  ^^  ^  pound  Troy) — uncia 
being  the  Latin  for  a  twelfth.  A  fm-ther  heritage  from  the 
Eomans  is  found  in  the  familiar  £.  s.  d.,  "  said  to  be  from 
Latin  libra,  a  balance,  a  pound  in  weight ;  solidus,  a  coin 
of  the  value  of  twenty-five  denarii,  subsequently  only  half 
of  that  value;  and  denarius,  a  silver  coin  worth  8|d. 
English."'  The  sexagesimal  system  of  the  Babylonians 
should  also  receive  attention,  as  from  them  we  borrowed 
our  system  of  measuring  angles  and  hours  in  divisions  of 
sixty  minutes  and  sixty  seconds. 

The  origin  of  the  many  and  various  units  for  measuring 
length  and  weight  will  show  to  the  pupils  how  naturally 
these  units  came  into  being,  and  how  intimately  they  were 
connected  with  the  daily  life  and  work  of  our  ancestors. 
They  measured  length  with  theu*  fingers,  their  hand,  their 
foot,  and  their  outstretched  arms,  and  so  we  get  the  finger's 
breadth,  the  span,  the  foot,  and  the  fathom.  The  cubit 
was  the  length  of  the  forearm ;  a  furlong  the  usual 
length  of  a  ploughed  furrow ;  whilst  the  cable's  length 
(120  fathoms)  was  the  usual  length  of  rope  for  anchoring 
a  ship.  The  grain  of  wheat  gave  a  measure  for  weight  and 
the  grain  of  barley  for  length,  three  barleycorns  making 
one  inch. 

However  interesting  the  pupils  may  find  the  account  of 
the  origin  of  these  units,  they  will  have  little  difficulty 
in  reaUsing  their  complexity  and  the  confusion  that  follows 
from  their  simultaneous  use.  They  wiU  readily  see  that 
advancing  civilisation  demands  that  we  should  bring  our- 

^  Stormonth's  English  DiciioJiary. 


446  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

selves  into  Hue  with  other  countries  and  adopt  a  system  of 
units  more  methodical  and  more  symmetrical. 

17.  After  the  decimal  notation  has  been  clearly  grasped 
and  familiarised  fractions  will  provide  occa- 
sion for  the  further  study  of  the  theory  of 
measurement. 

The  early  teaching  of  arithmetic  should  have  made 
familiar  to  the  pupils  the  notion  of  a  fraction,  for  the  idea 
is  involved  in  all  measuring.  A  whole  is  measured  by 
being  divided  into  equal  parts  and  is  thus  a  certain 
number  of  times  each  such  part.  This  idea  first  receives 
conscious  attention  in  considering  multiplication  and  divi- 
sion, and  the  fractional  form  of  expression  should  be  taught 
in  conjunction  with  these.  By  this  means  a  working 
notion  of  a  fraction  will  have  been  developed  and  the 
various  operations  with  simple  and  convenient  fractions 
will  be  quite  possible,  such  operations  for  example  as  1/5 
of  25  ft.,  4/5  of  25  ft.,  9/10  ft.  -4-  3,  4/5  ft.  x  4,  5/12  ft.  ± 
3/12  ft.  Moreover  the  fractional  parts  of  a  shilling, 
pound,  foot,  yard,  and  other  common  standard  units  will 
have  been  taught  and  will  have  formed  the  basis  of  work- 
ing a  considerable  number  of  problems. 

In  progressing  to  the  more  rational  consideration  of 
fractions  the  teacher  should  proceed  from 
Rational  Idea  the  point  to  which  the  pupils  have  already 
°  ^^^  ^  '  advanced.  It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to 
begin  here  vnth  dividing  such  an  object  as  an  apple  or  a 
square  into  equal  parts.  At  this  stage  the  pupils  should 
be  beyond  this  method  cf  illustration  and  should  be 
capable  of  appreciating  rational  inference  from  general 
principles.  Starting  with  the  idea  of  measuring  a  whole, 
say  a  wall  measured  as  12  yards,  they  should  proceed  by 
close  analytic  examination  to  work  out  in  general  terms 
the  meaning  of  a  fraction  and  the  principles  that  govern 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  447 

operations  with  fractions.  Tliej  should  grasp  that  the 
measurement  may  be  expressed  either  as:  the  wall  =  12 
yds. ;  or,  1  yd.  =  1/12  of  the  Avail.  The  parts  may  then  be 
numbered  in  terms  of  one  such  part,  in  which  case  1/12 
of  the  wall  is  the  unit.  It  gives  the  name  or  label  to  the 
number,  hence  the  term  '  denominator,'  while  the  number 
of  such  units  is  shown  by  the  '  numerator.'  It  will  be 
clear  that  the  total  number  of  parts,  or  12/12  of  the  wall, 
will  be  the  whole  wall,  from  which  the  pupils  can  pass  to 
the  general  statement  that  whatever  parts  a  whole  be 
divided  into  the  total  number  of  such  parts  makes  up  the 
whole.  This  statement  should  be  symbolised  in  the 
expression — 

A  whole  =  i  =  |  =  §=::|  = ^.    From  this  it  is  easy 

to  proceed  to  the  principle  that  as  the  number  of  parts 
increases  so  the  value  of  the  part  proportionately  de- 
creases. It  takes  4  eighths  to  equal  2  quarters  or  1 
half.  This  principle,  examined  by  means  of  a  foot-rule 
as  a  typical  case,  should  be  expressed  finally  in  the  form 
a/b  =■  najnh. 

These  main  principles  having  been  established  and  made 
familiar  by  the  pupils  applying  them  to  a  sufficiently  large 
number  of  examples,  the  way  is  quite  clear  to  proceed  to 
elaborate  from  them  the  rules  for  operating  with  fractional 
quantities. 

The  method  of  adding  and  subtracting  fractions  is  an 

immediate  apphcation  of  the  principle  that 

Addition  and  quantities  cannot  be  brought  into  arithme- 
Subtraction  of    , .     ,      ,  ^.  ,        .,  -,  ,       , 

Fractions.  ^^ic^al  relation  unless  they  are  measured  by  the 

same  unit,  scores  cannot  be  added  to  dozens, 
nor  thirds  to  quarters.  The  change  to  a  common  unit 
brings  in  the  principle  ajh  =  najnb.  It  is  quite  unneces- 
sary to  illustrate  by  means  of  diagrams.  The  principles 
once  grasped  the  application  can  follow  by  an  appeal  to 


448  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

reason  without  taking  the  pupils  back  to  elementary  and 
empiric  illustration. 

By  a  similar  general  process  the  method  of  multiplying 
can  be  infen-ed  from  the  meaning  of  mul- 
Multiplication  tiplication  applied  to  the  meaning  of  a 
0  rac  ions.  fp^ction.  A  fraction,  say  3/6  ft.,  has  two 
meanings,  (a)  3  times  1/5  ft.,  and  (b)  1/5  of  3  ft.  The 
denominator  thus  indicates  division  of  a  whole,  and  the 
numerator  multiphcation  of  a  part.     Hence 

3x7 
3  times  |  yds.  =  3  times  7  times  A  yd.  =  — ^—  yds., 

3x7 

and  I  of  5  yds.  will  be  5  times  less,  i.e. yds. 

^       ^  •'  8x5 

'  Cancelling '  can  then  be  taken  us  a  direct  application  of 
a/b  =  najnb. 

In    considering    division    its    twofold    meaning    should 

be  made  clear.    We  may  be  asked  to   find 

Division  of         either  the  number  of  parts  when  given  their 

rac  ions.  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  Q2iQ\\  part  when  given  their 

number.  The  former  view  is  the  more  convenient  for 
deahng  with  division  of  fractional  quantities.  For 
example,  5/7  yd.  -^  3/4  yd.  means  the  number  of  times 
3/4  yd.  is  contained  in  5/7  yd.  and  the  answer  is  the  num- 
ber that  3/4  must  be  multiplied  by  to  make  5/7.  Now,  1/4 
must  be  multiplied  by  4  to  make  1  and  3/4  by  three  times 
less,  i.e.  by  4/3.  Therefore,  to  make  5/7  the  fraction  3/4 
must  be  multiplied  by  5/7  of  4/3.  Hence  5/7  ^  3/4  =  5/7 
of  4/3. 

The  pupils  should  be  taken  through  these  proofs  step  by 

step  and  without  hurry.     At  each  important 
Generalised       stage  they  should  stop  to  work  examples  in 

order  to  become  familiar  with  the  new  ideas 
and  processes  and  to  prepare  the   way   for   the  steps  to 


THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS. 


449 


come.     Finally,  they  should  proceed  to  symbolic  expres- 
sion, as  for  example — 

a       c  _  ad±ich 

¥-  d         W 

a        c  _  a  X  c  _  ac 
h        d  ~  h  X  d       bd' 

a    ,    c  a        d  ad 

b    '    d        b         c        be 

G.C.M.  and  L.C.M.  should  be  taught  just  so  far  as  they 
are  essential  to  working  with  fractional  quantities.  Short 
and  quick  methods  of  working  by  factorisation  should  be 
adopted.  The  pupils  should  have  plenty  of  drill  in  factor- 
ising  and  should  know  how  to  discover  whether  such 
simple  numbers  as  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  8,  9,  10,  and  12  are  factors 
of  a  larger  number. 

18.  After  fractious  have  been  considered   the   idea  of 
ratio  can  be  made  fully  expUcit,  and,  in  corn- 
Ratio,  Propor-  bination  with  the  idea  of  proportion,  can  be 
Equations.  ^^^d  in  the  solution  of  problems.     This  idea 

of  ratio — of  one  quantity  being  a  number  of 
times  another — is  not  a  new  one.  It  was  invol'ved  in 
multiplication  and  division  and  should  have  received  more 
explicit  examination  in  the  tx'eatment  of  fractions.  "We 
have  already  seen  that  tAvo  quantities  to  be  compared  must 
be  of  the  same  kind  and  measured  in  the  same  unit.  So 
to  compare  say  4  yards  and  5  feet  they  must  be  expressed 
as  12  feet  and  5  feet,  from  which  we  can  say  that — 

5  feet  is  5/12  of  12  feet,  and 

12  feet  is  12/5  of  5  feet,  or 

symbolically,  a  feet  is  a/b  times  b  feet. 

But  we  may  consider  an  object  m  several  aspects  at  the 
same  time — for  example,  in  volume,  in  weight,  in  value.  In 
most  cases  these  are  in  definite  relations  to  each  other. 
They  vary  together,  so  that  if  one  is  increased  or  decreased 

PR.  TG.  29 


450  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

a  number  of  times  the  others  are  increased  or  decreased  in 
a  like  ratio.  If  then  we  take  two  similar  objects  A  and  B, 
of  volumes  a  and  b,  the  number  of  times  A's  volume  con- 
tains B's  volume  is  the  same  as  the  number  of  times 
A's  weight  or  value  contains  B's  weight  or  value,  which 
is  more  shortly  expressed  as 

A's  volume A's  weight A's  value a 

B's  volume       B's  weight  ~  B's  value       b 

This  direct  relation  does  not  apply  to  all  objects.  The 
volume  of  a  cube  does  not  vary  directly  with  the  length  of 
its  side,  but  with  that  length  cubed,  and  the  area  of  a 
square  with  the  side  squared,  while  the  length  of  time  to 
complete  a  piece  of  work  should  vary  inversely  with  the 
number  of  men  employed. 

The  fractional  form  for  ratio  and  the  equational  form  for 
proportion,  besides  being  the  most  convenient  and  work- 
able, are  by  far  the  easiest  to  grasp.  These  forms  express 
precisely  what  is  meant  by  ratio  and  proportion.  Ratio  is 
the  number  of  times  one  quantity  is  contained  in  another, 
hence  it  should  be  expressed  so  as  to  show  that  the  one  is 
divided  by  the  other ;  that  is,  as  a  fraction.  Proportion 
implies  things  varying  equally,  therefore  an  equational 
form  is  the  most  suitable. 

The  equational  form  of  proportion  suggests  that  here 
will  be  a  most  convenient  place  for  beginning  simple 
equations,  in  which  the  tmknown  quantity  is  represented 
by  the  symbol  x.  Thus  in  working  the  problem :  Find 
the  cost  of  98  yards  if  50  yards  cost  dfi?,  we  will  let  x 
represent  the  cost  of  98  yards.  Then 
^_  98 
&1  ~~  50 

This    method   of  working   involves  the  teaching  of  cross 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  451 

multiplicatiou,  but  this  should  present  no  difficulties  to  the 
understanding. 

19.  Percentage  is  only  a  special  form  of  fractions  ;  it 
„  is  a  fraction ;  it  standardises  one  form  of 

division  into  parts.  In  calculating  in  per- 
centage, a  quantity  is  divided  into  100  parts,  and  the  unit 
of  measurement  is  1/lOOth  part  of  the  quantity,  which  by 
convention  is  written  1  °/^. 

Frequently  the  simplest  and  shortest  method  of  working 
percentage  is  to  reduce  at  once  to  a  fraction,  as  in  the 
problem  :  I  buy  articles  for  ,£30  and  sell  at  a  gain  of  5  %  5 
find  the  selling  price.     The  working  will  be 

S.P.  =  C.P.  +  ^  of  C.P.  =  1^  of  ^30  =^  ^31  10s. 

The  same  method  of  reduction  to  fractional  form  applies 
to  calculating  interest.  For  example :  Find  the  interest 
on  a  sum  of  money  lent  for  a  number  of  years  at  5  %. 
The  unit  or  rate  of  interest  is  5/100  of  the  principal  due 
every  year.     Hence 

5 
Interest  for  one  year  =  — —  of  the  Principal. 
•^  100  ^ 

/.  Interest  for  a  No.  of  years 

5 

=  .i-pTTT  of  Principal  x  No.  of  years: 
100  ^  •'         ' 

Generalising  the  rate,  this  becomes 

Interest  for  a  No.  of  years 

=  =^  of  Priu.  X  No.  of  years, 
100  -^ 

and  symbolising 

I  =  jIgOfPxn. 

In  compound  interest  it  is  most  convenient  to  reduce 
the  sum  of  money  to  a  decimal  and  the  rate  to  the  most 
convenient  fraction,  while  the  results  need  not  be  worked 


452  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

out  further  than  three  places  of  decimals,  as  "001  of  a 
pound  is,  roughly  speaking,  a  farthing.  For  example : 
Find  the  compovmd  interest  on  ,£745  12s.  6d.  for  5  years 

at  4%: 

P  =  745-625  )  ,  , 
of  P  =    29-825  i        ^'^^^• 


I  = 


P  =  775-45    ")  ,,   T 
5VofP=    31-018  j^^^^^^''^^- 


806-468 
and  so  on. 

20.  In    presenting    new    subject-matter   the    teaching 
should    progress    in    steps    suited    to    the 
General  powers  of  the  learners,  and  every  step  should 

the  Teaching.  ^^^  made  thorough  by  working  mentally  a 
number  of  examples.  In  introducing  new 
ideas  and  new  processes  the  rate  of  pi'ogress  should  be 
that  by  which  the  pupils  can  attain  the  clearest  grasp  of 
new  ideas,  and  can  become  familiarised  with  them  before 
proceeding  further.  Too  rapid  an  advance  from  one  new 
thought  to  another  will  only  residt  in  confusion.  For  the 
same  reason,  the  numbers  used  during  this  teaching  should 
be  such  as  to  present  no  mechanical  difficulties.  All  the 
attention  can  then  be  concentrated  on  grasping  the  new 
subject-matter.  Following  the  teaching  of  new  rules 
should  be  mental  and  blackboard  work  gradually  in- 
creasing in  complexity  in  order  to  familiarise  the  pupils 
with  applying  the  rules  in  many  and  varied  ways.  When, 
by  this  means,  they  have  gained  a  fair  command  of  the 
new  principle,  they  should  advance  to  quite  indejiendent 
work  at  more  difficult  examples.  These  should  be  as 
varied  in  their  nature  as  possible.  Each  example  should 
give  some  fresh  food  for  thoiight,  and  the  j)upils  should 
honestly  strive  to  work  it  for  themselves.  Independent 
work  is  essential.     Only  when  an  honest,  keen  endeavour 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  453 

has  ended  in  failure,  should  the  teacher  or  another  pupil 
show  the  way.  By  this  means  seK-reliance,  confidence, 
and  power  will  be  trained,  qualities  very  necessary  to  all 
successful  and  effective  life. 

In  working  problems  the  pujiils  should  be  trained  to 
grasp  the  method  of  solution  as  a  A\'hole,  and  not  piece  by 
piece  in  succession.  In  blackboard  work  the  invariable 
rule  should  be  to  call  on  the  pupils  to  state  in  general 
terms  how  the  whole  problem  is  to  be  solved.  After  a 
time,  with  careful  and  sympathetic  criticism,  they  will 
become  expert  in  doing  this  in  a  very  precise  and  concise 
manner.  Such  general  terms  should  then  be  written  down 
symbolically  as  the  first  statement  in  the  working  of  the 
sum.  The  wi-itten  work  of  the  pupils  should  be  on  similar 
lines,  though  care  should  be  taken  that,  in  applying  sym- 
bolic expressions,  they  do  not  merely  replace  letters  by 
figures  Avithout  reflecting  on  the  relations  expressed  by  the 
formulae  used. 

In  the  independent  written  work  of  the  pupils  it  is 
by  no  means  necessary  for  all  to  be  working  the  same 
sum  at  the  same  time.  Bright  pupils  should  be  pro- 
gressing quickly,  duller  pupils  will  advance  more  slowly, 
and  the  former  will  soon  outpace  the  latter.  A  text-book 
containing  collections  of  problems,  varied  and  increasing  in 
difficulty,  should,  therefore,  be  in  use.  Any  sum  attempted 
should,  as  a  rule,  be  correctly  solved  before  another  is 
begun.  Only  so  can  the  habit  of  cai'e  necessary  for  habi- 
tual accuracy  be  secured.  At  times,  however,  this  may  be 
varied,  and  interest  added  by  the  pupils  competing  to  find 
who  can  correctly  work  the  greatest  number  of  examples 
in  a  given  time.  The  blackboard  should  be  judiciously 
used  ;  and  this,  being  interpreted,  means  that  it  should  not 
be  excessively  used.  At  the  beginning  of  a  practice  lesson 
difficult  points  may,  with  advantage,  be  explained  on  the 


454  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

board,  but  during  the  independent  practice  tlie  pupils 
should  feel  that  thej  have  to  rely  on  themselves,  and  only 
in  case  of  real  failure  should  the  teacher  step  iu  and  use 
the  blackboard  for  explanation.  In  their  written  work 
they  should  be  trained  to  do  their  sums  not  only  neatly 
but  quickly,  that  is,  as  quickly  as  is  consistent  with 
accuracy.  The  first  essential  is  accuracy,  the  second 
rapidity.  We  have  already  insisted  that  no  calculation 
that  can  be  worked  mentally  should  be  worked  on 
paper. 

Rapidity  and  accuracy  can  only  be  secured  when  the 
pupils  have  thoroughly  memorised  all  essential  tables,  and 
can  perform  quite  automatically  all  necessary  mental  cal- 
culations. What  should  be  required  of  the  pupils  of  the 
lower  school  in  this  respect  has  already  been  made  clear. 
The  older  pupils  have  similar  memorising  to  do  with  re- 
spect to  their  work.  The  equivalent  decimal  form  for  all 
the  common  fractions,  and  the  fractional  form  of  all 
common  percentages,  should  be  known  by  heart.  Opera- 
tions with  decimals,  fractions,  and  percentages  should  be 
made  automatic  by  frequent  practice  in  working  mental 
problems  of  very  varied  kinds.  Such  'drill'  to  secure 
the  power  of  rapid,  accurate,  and  automatic  mental  calcu- 
lation should  occupy  the  first  five  to  fifteen  minutes  of 
every  arithmetic  lesson. 

21.  By  the  end  of  the  fifth  year  the  pupils  should  be  quite 
familiar  with  decimals  and  fractions,  and 
me^ic  in  th""  should  have  a  clear  grasp  of  the  principles 
Rational  Stage,  of  percentage,  ratio,  and  proportion.  The 
sixth  and  seventh  years  will  then  remain 
for  a  thorough  application  of  these  to  various  kinds  of 
problems  and  to  practical  work,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
the  power  of  symbolic  treatment  should  be  considerably 
developed. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  455 

It  has  been  usual  in  primary  schools  to  confine  arithme- 
tic almost  entirely  to  calculation  in  money 
Character  ^^^    ^   small    sprinkling    of    mensuration. 

Such  a  com-se  limits  considerably  the  pupil's 
outlook  on  his  material  world.  It  brings  him  merely 
into  contact  with  one  aspect  of  Hfe,  the  financial  and 
commercial.  Important  as  this  is,  it  is  not  the  only  rela- 
tion nor  the  broadest  one  that  he  should  reahse  through 
what  may  be  called  his  mathematical  activities.  The 
full  command  over  the  things  comprising  our  material 
environment  can  only  be  gained  by  our  having  the  power 
to  foresee  the  means  to  be  employed  to  change  them  from 
one  condition  to  another  more  suited  to  oiir  desires,  and 
such  change  must  be  based  on  measurements  of  various 
kinds. 

A  full  and  broad  course  in  arithmetic,  then,  which  will 
exercise  widely  the  activities  by  which  the  pupil  obtains 
exact  command  over  things,  must  include  at  least  the 
measurement  of  space,  of  weight,  of  densities,  and  of  force. 
Being  largely  practical  in  character,  such  a  course  will 
arouse  keener  interest  in  the  pupils  as  having  for  them  a 
direct  bearing  on  real  objective  life.  It  will,  besides, 
make  clearer  and  fuller  their  ideas  of  measurement  and 
will  train,  habits  of  physical  accuracy  and  care  which  will 
be  invaluable  in  the  future. 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  pupil  in  the  lower  school 
should  be  trained  in  practical  measui-ement 
of^Length^^"^  by  making  plans  and  drawing  to  scale. 
Such  exercises  receive  a  new  direction  when, 
in  the  upper  school,  he  is  taught  the  continental  systems 
of  measures.  He  wiU  now  measui-e  in  centimetres  and  in 
grammes.  Passing  from  straignt  lengths  to  curved  lines 
he  will  consider  the  relation  between  the  radius  and  the 
circumference   of   a   circle,   by   means   of   which   he   can 


456  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

calculate  the  circumfei-ence  of  circular  objects,  as  glass 
cylinders,  lead  piping,  and  copper  wire.  Longer  distances 
should  be  dealt  with  in  a  neighbouring  field  or  park.  A 
pole  or  rood  should  be  pegged  out  by  means  of  a  sur- 
veyor's chain,  whilst  at  the  same  time  the  method  of 
securing  a  straight  line  will  be  taught.  By  measuring 
round  the  field  the  pupil  can  form  an  idea  of  a  mile  in 
terms  of  the  distance  round,  and  this  will  become  more 
real  to  him  if  he  paces  it  out  and  calculates  the  number  of 
paces  to  a  mile.  The  time  it  takes  to  walk  and  to  run  round 
the  field  can  then  be  noted,  and  the  time  required  to  walk 
or  run  a  mile  worked  from  them. 

The  consideration  of  the  distance  round  the  field  easily 
leads  to  dealing  with  the  space  enclosed, 
Measurement  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  readily  be  shown  how  distance 
round  gives  no  true  indication  of  area 
unless  shape  be  taken  into  account.  The  pupil  should 
now  go  indoors  and  work  out  the  theory  of  measuring 
areas,  in  order  that  he  may  come  back  fully  prepared  for 
the  practical  task  before  him.  The  areas  of  rectangles, 
parallelograms,  and  triangles  should  not  present  much 
difficulty,  though  care  must  be  taken  not  to  fall  into  the 
error  of  saying  that  '  feet '  multiplied  by  '  feet '  give 
'  square  feet.'  If  a  rectangle  be  divided  into  square  feet 
by  a  number  of  lines  parallel  to  the  sides,  tlie  number 
of  feet  in  one  side  gives  the  number  of  rows,  and 
the  number  of  feet  in  the  adjacent  side  the  number  of 
squares  in  a  row.     Hence 

Area  =  No.  of  square  feet  in  one  row  X  No.  of  rows, 
which  is  not  a  multiplying  of  feet  by  feet. 

The  immediate  purpose  of  the  practical  work  will  be  to 
find  the  area  of  walls,  floors,  windows,  and  other  objects 
in  and  around  the  class-room,  until  familiarity  with  the 
triangle  will  permit  the  introduction  of  irregular  figures, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  457 

when    adjourumeut    to    the    field    will    again    be   found 
necessary. 

A  squai'e  pole,  square  chain,  and  an  acre  should  be 
pegged  out  with  a  number  of  flags,  so  that  the  pupil  can 
see  their  relative  sizes,  and  he  can  practise  his  knowledge 
in  judging  by  the  eye  the  number  of  acres  and  square 
chains  in  a  field.  After  this  he  can  set  about  measuring 
it  by  setting  down  base  line  and  perpendiculars. 

Questions  of  air  space  in  the  school  will  lead  to  the 

measurement  of  cubical  contents,  and  as  both 
Measurement     pj.^ctical  work  and  problems  will  frequently 

involve  cross  sections  the  pupil  must  work 
out  the  area  of  a  circle.  The  graduated  cylinder  will  be 
brought  into  requisition  in  the  measurement  of  liquids,  and 
the  graduation  of  such  a  measure  will  furnish  a  practical 
exei'cise  involving  careful  manipulation  and  measui'ement 
and  judicious  calculation.  The  cylinder  can  then  be  used 
for  measuring  the  capacity  of  bottles  and  the  volumes  of 
small  irregular  solids. 

The  failure  of  this  method  in  the  case  of   bodies  lighter 

than    water    leads     to     the     treatment    of 

Measurement     density    and    of    bodies    that   float  or  sink, 
of  Density.  -^      . 

The    pupil    should    work    out    the   various 

ways   of    finding    relative    density   and    apply    them    in 

practical  work. 

The  use  of  the  balance  and  the  consideration  of  gravity 

in  connection  with  floating  bodies  opens  the 
^?o^e  ™^^*     way  to  the  treatment  of  forces  in  general  and 

of  gravity  in  particular.  The  pendulum, 
lever,  inclined  plane,  pulley,  and  other  mechanical  devices 
in  general  use  will  provide  plenty  of  material  for  both 
theoretical  and  practical  work,  while  the  representation 
of  forces  by  lines  Avill  lead  to  the  consideration  of  the 
parallelogram  of  forces. 


458  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

Such  a  varied  course  in  applied  arithmetic  during  the 
last  tkree  years  of  school  life  fits  the  pupil 
to  cope  with  future  life,  both  by  the  training 
in  manipulative  skill  it  gives  and  by  the  wider  and  more 
intelligent  command  over  things  it  ensures.  Neither  a 
large  amount  of  apparatus  nor  a  special  room  is  needed. 
Each  pupil  should  possess  a  good  rule  divided  into  centi- 
metres and  millimetres  on  one  edge,  and  into  inches  and 
tenths  on  the  other,  while  the  reverse  side  should  show 
twelfths  and  sixteenths.  For  class  work  there  should  be  a 
metre-rule,  a  surveyor's  chain,  a  spring-balance,  several 
balances  for  more  careful  work,  and  a  set  of  pulleys. 
Much  of  the  apparatus  can  be  made  by  the  pupils  in  the 
handicraft  room.  Each  pupil  can  make  himself  a  set  of 
models  on  which  to  perform  his  measui'ements  and,  in 
addition,  pendulums,  levers,  inclined  planes,  and  all 
the  apparatus  for  land  surveying  can  be  made  in  the 
school. 

22.  Geometry  is  the  science  of  space.     It  concerns  itself 
with  "  magnitude,  its  properties,  conditions, 
The  Universal    and  appurtenances."    Space  itself  is  universal, 
Geometry.  ^^^  space  relations  enter  into  all  our  dealings 

with  material  things.  The  movements  we 
make  are  through  space,  and  the  adapting  of  material  things 
to  smt  our  needs  and  purposes  is  the  altering  of  their  shape 
and  position  by  the  use  of  force,  which  itseK  can  only  be 
defined  in  terms  of  space.  Space,  time,  and  matter  are 
the  fundamentals  of  all  knowledge  of  the  material  world, 
and  the  science  of  geometry  is  the  broad  highway  along 
wliich  every  physical  science  must  plod  to  exactness  and 
perfection,  while  every  art  from  the  rude  efforts  of  the 
savage  to  the  most  wonderful  of  engineering  feats  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  makes  use  of  its  principles  and 
rules. 


THE    TEACHINO    OF    MATHEMATICS.  459 

23.  Geometry,  like  every  other  science,  had  its  begin- 

„,    „.  ^        ,  nings  in  the  eiforts  of  man  to  fit  himself  and 

The  History  of   ,  .   =' .  ^  ^     , , 

the  Develop-      ^^^^  cu'cumstances  more  perfectly  and  exactly 

ment  of  to  his  needs.     Man  subjects  the  world  to  his 

eome  ry.  ^^-^^   1^^   knowing    it.       Naturally,    practice 

preceded  theory.  Early  man,  like  the  little  child,  did 
things  before  he  knew  the  '  how  '  and  the  '  why  '  of  them ; 
yes,  even  before  he  was  fully  aware  of  what  he  was  doing. 
He  became  conscious  of  this  latter  first,  and  thence  came 
knowledge  of  a  body  of  facts  about  form  and  position  that 
helped  him  to  make  his  tools  and  his  hut,  to  plot  out  his 
land  for  cultivation,  and  to  find  his  way  over  the  plains 
and  through  the  forests. 

In    the  ancient  land   of    Egypt   there   were,    however, 
problems  of  practical  life   that   forced   the 
Egypt— the        knowledge  of  shape  and  position  into  great 
A&e  of  Em-        prominence.     In  this  earliest  of  civilisations, 
piricism.  some  unknown  number  of  centuries  before 

the  Christian  era,  the  science  of  geometry  was  boi'n  and 
gained  a  name  which  "  might  carry  with  it  a  perpetual 
memory  of  the  first  and  notablest  benefit  by  that  science 
to  common  people  showed :  which  was,  when  bounds  and 
meres  of  land  and  gi'ound  wei'e  lost  and  confounded,  as  in 
Egypt  yearly  with  the  overflowing  of  Nilus,  the  greatest 
and  longest  river  in  the  world,  .  .  .  upon  these  and  such 
like  occasions,  some  by  ignorance,  some  by  negligence, 
some  by  fraud,  and  some  by  violence,  did  wrongfully  limit, 
measure,  encroach,  or  challenge,  by  pretence  of  just  con- 
tent and  measure,  those  lands  and  grounds ;  and  so  great 
loss,  disquietness,  murder,  and  war  did  full  oft  ensue,  till 
liy  God's  mercy  and  man's  industry  the  perfect  science  of 
lines,  planes,  and  solids,  like  a  divine  justiciar,  gave  unto 
every  man  his  own. 

"  The  people  then   by  this  art  pleasured,  and  greatly 


460  THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS. 

relieved  in  their  land's  just  measuring;  and  other 
philosophers  writing  rules  for  land-measuring ;  between 
them  both  thus  confirmed  the  name  of  Geometry,  that  is, 
according  to  the  very  etymology  of  the  word,  Land- 
measiiriug."  ^ 

Nothing,  however,  was  known  but  a  body  of  facts  and 
practical  rules  for  realising  practical  ends.  The  extent 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Egyptians  can  be  judged  when 
we  are  told  that  its  high  water  mark  was  reached  when 
they  discovered  that  if  the  sides  of  a  triangle  be  3, 4,  and  5, 
the  greatest  angle  is  a  right  angle.  This  fact  must  have 
been  of  the  utmost  use  to  them  in  building  their  temples 
to  face  the  desired  point  of  the  heavens  and  in  deter- 
mining the  exact  position  and  shape  of  their  fields.  A 
rule  such  as  this  the  practical  Egj^ptian  mind  accepted  as 
a  fact.  Why  the  angle  was  right  he  knew  not,  nor, 
probably,  did  he  care. 

From  this  empiric  practical  stage,  which  would  have  con- 
fined it  to  the  narrowly  utilitarian,  geometry 
The  Influence  t   i       xi  i   i.-        n       ^        i ' 

of  the  Greeks     "^^^^  rescued  by  the  speculative  Ureek,  who 

—the  Age  of  loved  knowledge  for  its  own  sake  apart  from 
Speculation.       ^j^^   ^^^^^   ^^  ^j^jg  ^^^^.^^   -^  brought  in  its 

train.  He  probed  into  its  facts  and  rules,  and  in  the 
hands  of  various  masters  geometry  began  to  take  a  more 
scientific  shape  and  form.  For  a  sure  foundation  the 
Greeks  framed  abstract  ideas  of  point,  line,  surface,  of 
triangle,  square,  and  circle,  from  which  conclusions  were 
reached  by  exact  inference.  Constantly  new  discoveries 
concerning  the  properties  of  figures  were  made,  though 
the  useful  was  not  neglected,  for  we  read  of  the  height 
and  volume  of  the  pyramids  being  found  and  the  distance 
of  ships  at  sea  measured. 

*  Quoted  from  John  Dee,  who  wrote  some  years  before  the  time 
of  the  Armada,  by  W.  B.  Frankland  in  The  Story  of  Euclid,  p.  17. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  461 

Grraclually,  "from  being  a  miscellaneous  collection  of 
sporadic  facts,"  geometry  became  a  compact  system  of 
organised  knowledge,  in  whicli  from  the  simplest  and  most 
fundamental  truths  conclusions  the  most  complex  and 
absti-use  were  reached  by  a  series  of  rigorous  deductions. 
In  such  a  form  its  study  became  for  nearly  two  thousand 
years  part  of  the  famous  Quadrivium — the  four  ways  of 
liigher  education.  Finally,  in  the  third  centuiy  before 
Christ,  the  immortal  Euclid  gave  the  final  stroke  of  genius, 
and  presented  to  the  world  and  to  future  generations  the 
perfect  science  in  his  Elements  of  Geometry. 

In  this  form  geometry  has  come  down  to  modern  times 
through  many  vicissitudes.  Born  on  the  muddy  banks  of 
the  Nile,  it  grew  to  manhood  under  the  care  of  the 
philosophic  Grreek  ;  lost  to  Western  Europe  during  the 
dark  ages  of  ignorance  and  barbarism  it,  with  all  true 
culture,  was  preserved  to  the  world  by  the  science-loving 
Arabs  and  restored  at  last  to  modern  thought  at  the 
Eenaissance,  when  the  pure  love  of  knowledge  woke  to  a 
new  and  freer  life.  The  progress  of  its  practical  applica- 
tions has  been  no  less  wonderful,  and  they  are  now  as 
universal  as  space  itself.  Beginning  with  the  surveying 
of  land,  geometry  has  extended  its  sway  over  the  whole 
terrestrial  and  celestial  universe.  The  humble  joiner  and 
mechanic  seek  its  aid,  and  by  its  means  the  mighty  fleets 
of  the  world  have  come  into  being  and  plough  their  way 
in  safety  over  the  pathless  seas. 

24.  Such,  then,  is  the  outline  jDlan  of  its  life  history. 
Beginning  in  man's  efforts  to  cope  more  and 
The  Value  of  more  exactly  and  effectively  with  his  material 
Life.  environment,  it  became   a  body   of   kno^vu 

facts  and  practical  rules.  Speculation,  pro- 
bing to  its  utmost  depth  the  '  how '  and  the  '  why  '  of  it, 
raised  it  to  a  perfect  science,  and  utility  and  culture  with 


462  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

extended  imagiBation  bring  the  earth  and  sky  under  its 
rule  and  subdue  all  to  man's  will.  In  this  history  is 
indicated  the  heritage  of  science  and  art  unfolded  by  a 
knowledge  of  geometry  to  the  human  mind  which  has 
mastered  its  principles.  Bj  its  means  we  can  pass  with 
certainty  beyond  the  reign  of  the  senses  to  the  utmost 
bounds  of  space.  By  its  aid  the  solar  system  and  the 
earth's  surface  are  brought  within  human  comprehension. 
Without  it  no  science  or  art  can  be  mastered.  Its  study 
is  truly  fundamental.  So  great  is  its  importance  in  human 
life  and  human  thought  that  we  might  with  justice 
inscribe  over  the  portals  of  our  universities  the  warning 
engraved  over  the  entrance  to  the  Academy  of  Plato  : 
"  Let  none  ignorant  of  geometry  enter  here." 

25.  The  growth  of  geometry  in  time  is  very  closely 
paralleled  by  the  growth  of  geometrical  ideas 
Growth  of  Geo-  i^  the  human  mind,  a  parallel  much  closer 
in  the  Mind.  than  exists  in  the  case  of  other  bodies  of 
knowledge  that  have  suffered  great  changes 
in  their  fundamental  principles  during  the  progress  of 
time.  The  small  child  is  impelled  by  instinct  and  neces- 
sity to  master  his  physical  environment,  and  he  actively 
employs  all  his  senses  and  members  to  test  the  things 
about  him.  By  means  of  this  unceasing  activity  of  hands 
and  brain  he  amasses  many  and  varied  crude  experiences  of 
position,  direction,  and  shape  that  if  not  expressed  in 
words  at  least  find  a  practical  outlet  in  a  more  or  less 
appropriate  action. 

But  the  child  is  surrounded  by  a  Hfe  of  human  thought 

and  action,  permeated  by  geometrical  ideas- 

The  Influence     a^^  finding  constant  expression  in   speech. 

Environmert.     Born  into  this  traditional  and  current  life  as 

well  as  into  the  physical  world  he  begins  to 

make  it  his  own  through  imitation  and  speech,  and  the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  463 

crude  actions  and  experiences  of  liis  instinctive  life  gradually 
take  on  the  character  and  definiteness  implied  by  the  terms 
in  current  use.  Thus,  partly  by  watching  others  and  partly 
on  his  own  initiative,  he  discovers  simple  properties  of  solid 
and  surface,  Hne,  square,  and  circle,  and  so  acquires  a 
body  of  empiric  facts  and  rules  for  practical  use  in  his 
childish  occupations  and  in  his  intercourse  with  his 
elders. 

With  school  life  comes  organising  instruction,  and  the 
instinctive  curiosity  and  pnictical  activities 
The  Influence  of  the  child  receive  a  definite  direction 
Instruction.  through  the  systematic  play  of  the  kinder- 
garten. The  exercises  with  such  things  as 
cubes  and  sticks,  and  the  drawing  and  modelling,  give 
play  to  the  natural  instincts  and  direct  them  to  the  end  of 
more  definite  knowledge,  clearer  language,  and  more  skilled 
practice.  In  this  way  a  working  notion  of  the  common 
geometrical  ideas,  a  knowledge  of  the  properties  of  tlie 
more  common  figures,  and  familiarity  with  the  language 
of  geometry  become  a  conscious  possession  of  the 
child. 

A  further  impetus  to  this  growth  is,  as  we  have  seen,  pro- 
vided in  the  first  years  of  the  upper  school  by  the  making 
of  plans  and  the  drawing  of  objects  to  scale.  From  such 
exercises  should  spring  many  lessons  giving  the  child 
further  light  on  the  nature  of  the  square  and  circle,  the 
right  angle  and  parallel  lines,  for  these  and  other  forms 
will  constantly  be  required  in  such  occupations.  Still 
further  instruction  must  be  given  when  drawing  to  scale 
advances  to  making  plans,  elevations,  and  isometric  pro- 
jections necessary  for  handicraft  in  wood  in  the  later 
years  of  school  life.  But  all  his  knowledge  of  position 
and  shape  arising  out  of  such  exercises  has  a  practical 
bearing ;     it    springs     out     of     the     necessities    of    his 


4G4  THE    TKACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

measurings  and  his  drawings,  and  leads  back  to  them 
to  make  them  more  exact,  intelligible,  and  easy.  Such 
practical  interests  always  loom  large  in  the  child's 
intellectual  life. 

When,  however,  the  speculative  instinct  becomes  an  in- 
fluence in  the  pupil's  development  some  change  should 
take  place  in  the  character  of  the  teaching,  a  change  analo- 
gous to  that  wrought  by  the  Greek  mind  on  the  practical 
rules  discovered  by  the  Egyptians.  The  speculative  in- 
stinct demands  the  reason  for  things  ;  it  substitutes  logical 
necessity  for  practical  convenience,  and  the  keynote  of 
the  teaching  will  change  from  empiricism  to  rationality. 
Working  notions  and  practical  rules  should  now  be  probed 
to  their  bottom-most  depths  to  find  the  why  and  the  where- 
fore of  their  truth.  Conclusions  resting  on  experimental 
measurement  and  intuition  will  give  place  to  strict  logical 
demonstration.  Ideas  and  operations  will  be  analysed  to 
their  simplest  and  most  elemental  forms,  and  the  practical 
conclusions  of  the  earlier  stage  will  be  deduced  from  these 
by  a  train  of  strict  logical  argument.  The  practical,  how- 
ever, will  not  be  superseded,  for  the  pupils'  nature  is 
not  utterly  changing,  but  only  developing  to  a  higher 
intellectual  life,  where  objective  interests  range  over  a 
wider  field  and  are  subjected  to  a  deeper  insight.  The 
practical  and  the  speculative  now  walk  hand  in  hand, 
and  as  theory  advances  to  its  conclusions,  these  conclu- 
sions  will  be  brought  into  relation  with  wider  and  more 
complex  problems  of  terrestrial  and  celestial  measure- 
ment. 

Two  stages,  then,  the  Empiric  and  the  Rational,  will 
mark  the  progress  of  the  teaching  of  geometry,  not 
rigidly  fenced  off  from  each  other,  but  merging  the 
one  into  the  other — a  gradual  crystallisa,tion  of  perfect 
rationality. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  465 

20.  The  kindergarteu  sees  tlie  early  beginnings  of  the 
.  .  empiric  stage,  and  the  time  of  plan  and  scale 

Factor  in  the  drawing  will  witness  a  slight  advance  on  the 
Teaching  of  same  lines.  But  not  till  the  end  of  the  fourth 
year  of  the  upper  school  will  there  be  any 
really  organised  teaching  of  geometricaJ  truths.  The  smat- 
terings of  early  ideas  sliould  then  be  arranged  and  defined 
and  receive  considerable  amplification  by  a  definite  course 
in  constructive  geometry.  The  pupils  will  thus  become 
familiarised  with  most  of  the  geometrical  figures,  teiTQS, 
operations,  and  processes,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  fifth 
year  will  be  ready  to  take  the  step  into  the  realm  of 
speculation. 

The  dominant  not«  of  the  empiric  teaching  will  be  its 
practical  nature.  Each  main  line  of  thought 
the^?e*achine  should  spring  out  of  some  real  problem  of 
measurement  or  construction,  and  be  pursued 
to  such  conclusions  as  will  throw  a  more  intelligent  light 
on  constructions  and  measurements  of  a  wider  nature. 
The  most  important  principles  of  geometry  wiU  be  con- 
sidered in  order  to  bind  together  groups  of  practical  ideas 
which  can  be  inferred  from  them.  Such  principles,  how- 
ever, will  not  be  demonstrated  to  reason,  but  accepted  on 
the  test  of  measurement,  or  on  such  intuitions  as  symmetry 
and  equality,  which  are  ingrained  in  the  pupils'  habits  of 
thought  and  action  by  the  personal  experience  of  their 
whole  hves.  Evidence  of  this  kind  will  not  be  examined 
as  to  its  logical  character,  but  will  be  accepted  as  sufficient 
for  the  immature  intelligence  of  pupils  of  this  age. 

Thus,  in  comparing  lines  and  angles  to  discover  the 
properties  of  various  figures  the  pupils  will  make  use  of 
rxile  and  compass,  or,  in  many  cases,  the  comparison 
can  be  moi'e  conveniently  can-ied  out  by  means  of  figui-es 
cut  out  in  paper.  Folding  lino  on  line,  and  angle  on  angle, 
I'li.  iu,  30 


466  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

will  then  prove  to  tlie  eye,  although  not  to  the  reason, 
equality  or  inequality,  and  such  measurement,  backed  by 
the  intuition  that  it  must  be  so  in  the  nature  of  things, 
will  be  sufficiently  convincing  to  pupils  at  this  stage. 

There  is  no  settled  and  incontestable  way  of  beginning. 
A  starting-point  can  be  made  of  any  one  of 
CouSe°^^^^  a  number  of  practical  questions,  each  of 
which  will  by  proper  guidance  lead  to  the 
same  set  of  geometrical  principles,  and  from  these  practical 
rules  for  construction  can  be  deduced.  I'he  teacher  is 
advised  to  draw  up  his  own  course  and  to  modify  it  at  will 
when  the  practical  measurements  we  have  already  spoken 
of  in  the  teaching  of  arithmetic  open  out  opportunities  for 
new  developments.  We  will,  therefore,  content  ourselves 
with  sketching  a  few  of  the  lines  of  thought  the  teacher 
might  with  advantage  pursue. 

A  pair  of  compasses  used  for  marking  off  distances  will 
form  a  suitable  beginning  and  will  lead 
First  Illustra-  ciirectly  to  the  circle,  one  of  the  most  impor- 
Circle.  ^''^^^  figures  in  practical  geometry.     The  mere 

drawing  of  the  circle  with  the  compasses 
will  demonstrate  the  fact  of  the  radii  being  equal,  and  the 
use  of  the  circle  in  measuring  can  easily  be  shown  by 
asking  the  pupils  to  find  three  points  three  inches  from 
each  other,  and  a  point  two  inches  from  each  of  two  given 
points.  Incidentally  it  can  be  noted  that  these  illustrate 
the  construction  of  equilateral  and  isosceles  triangles. 

Circles,  however,  are  used  not  only  in  measuring  lines, 
but  also  in  dealing  with  angles,  and  this  involves  the 
principle  that  equal  arcs  of  equal  circles  are  opposite  equal 
angles  at  the  centre.  The  pupils  can  easily  l)ecome  con- 
vinced of  this  principle  by  superposing  two  equal  circles 
and  folding  them  to  form  two  equal  angles  at  the  centres. 
From  this  experiment  they  can  be  led  to  understand  that 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  467 

the  arc  of  a  circle  measures  the  angle  at  the  centre,  and 
that  an  angle  may  be  viewed  as  the  rotation  of  a  line  about 
one  of  its  ends.  These  ideas  should  now  be  made  familiar 
by  many  practical  exercises  involving  the  construction  of 
angles  and  giving  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  experi- 
mentally that  the  sum  of  the  interior  angles  of  a  triangle 
equals  two  right  angles. 

The  measurement  of  angles  suggests  at  once  the  con- 
sideration of  a  standard  or  unit  angle.  The  right  angle 
will  be  familiar  to  pupils  of  this  age  as  a  practical  notion, 
but  their  conception  of  it  needs  defining  and  widening. 

Two  lines  crossing  each  other  at  a  point  0  so  as  to  make 
all  the  angles  at  0  equal  will  broaden  the  notion  of  the 
pupils  as  to  the  nature  of  a  right  angle,  and  this  can 
further  be  illustrated  by  reference  to  the  mariners'  com- 
pass. They  should  grasp  quite  clearly  tliat  a  complete 
turn  round  back  to  one's  original  direction  is  a  turn  through 
four  right  angles,  and  that  to  turn  round  so  as  exactly 
to  reverse  one's  direction  is  a  turn  through  two  right  angles, 
no  matter  what  peregrinations  or  wanderings  have  been 
performed  during  the  process.  This  performance,  either 
in  imagination  or  in  reality,  can  now  take  place  round  the 
circumference  of  a  circle  and  round  the  sides  of  a  triangle, 
thus  demonstrating  in  the  first  case  that  the  circumference 
measures  four  right  angles,  and  in  the  second  that  the 
three  exterior  angles  of  a  triangle  are  together  equal  to 
four  right  angles. 

From  tliis  latter  conclusion  it  can  easily  be  deduced  that 
the  sum  of  the  three  interior  angles  of  a  triangle  is  equal  to 
two  right  angles.  In  a  more  direct  manner  this  important 
principle  could  be  verified  by  a  pupil  walking  round  the 
sides  of  a  triangle  and  turning  through  the  interior  angles 
in  succession,  when  he  would  arrive  at  his  starting  point 
facing  in  a  direction  the  reverse  of  the  original  one,  having 


468  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

thus  rotated  through  two  right  angles.    The  subdivision  of 

a  right  angle  into  degrees  could  then  be  taken,  with  its 

application  to  the  plotting  out  of  the  earth's  surface  by 

lines  of  latitude  and  longitude.     The  manner  in  which  this 

line  of  thought  can  be  developed  has  now,  perhaps,  been 

indicated  sufficiently  without  oui'  carrying  it  further  into  the 

consideration  of  the  relation  of   radius  to  circumference, 

the  construction  and  properties  of  the  hexagon,  equilateral 

triangles  and  angles  of  60°  and  30°. 

A  second  profitable  line  of  thought  is  one  bringing  in  the 

_        ,  J..  properties  of  the  isosceles  triangle — another 

tration— the       important     figure    in    both     practical     and 

Isosceles  Tri-     theoretical  geometry, 
angle 

The  construction  of  a  rectilinear  kite  might 

form  a  suitable  starting-point.  In  form  the  object  consists 
of  two  isosceles  triangles  on  the  same  base  and  on  opposite 
sides  of  it,  and  the  ci'oss  pieces  joining  opposite  angles  illus- 
trate many  important  principles  required  in  bisecting  hues 
and  in  constructing  lines  at  i-iglit  angles  to  each  other.  A 
paper  figure  ABCB  cut  so  as  to  represent  two  such  isosceles 
triangles  can  be  used  to  prove  by  measurement  the  truth  of 
these  principles.  The  paper  should  be  folded  carefully  so 
that  the  point  C  falls  exactly  on  the  point  A  and  then 
slowly  smoothed  down  so  that  the  crease  formed  exactly 
joins  the  points  B  and  D.  It  will  now  be  obvious  that  the 
two  halves  exactly  coincide,  that  the  ci-ease  BB  bisects  AC 
at  right  angles,  and  also  divides  the  vertical  angles  ABC 
and  ADC  into  equal  parts.  It  can  further  be  shown  by 
folding  that  any  point  on  BD  is  equidistant  from  the  ends 
of  the  base  AC. 

From  these  facts  the  pupils  can  by  simple  and  easy 
deductions  work  out  for  themselves  the  method  of  bisect- 
ing a  lino  or  an  angle,  of  drawing  a  line  at  right  angles  to 
another  either  from  a  point  within  or  without  it,  of  finding 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  469 

the  centre  of  a  circle,  of  describing  a  circle  about  a  triangle, 
and  of  constructing  tigui'es  in  the  production  of  which  the 
isosceles  triangle  is  an  important  factor.  The  properties 
of  a  square,  too,  can  be  discovered  by  conceiving  it  as  two 
equal  right-angled  isosceles  triangles  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  same  base. 

Another  valuable  series  of  problems  concerning  the 
detenninatiou  of  triangles,  right  angles,  and 
Third  lines  arises  out  of  land  surveying.     It  soon 

the^Tr^nff^e"  becomes  evident  in  measuring  ii-regular  areas 
that  the  triangle  is  the  elementary  figure  to 
work  with,  complex  figures  being  conceived  as  made  up  of 
a  nvimber  of  ti'iangles,  and  the  practical  question,  therefore, 
resolves  itself  into  finding  the  position  and  size  of  these 
triangles.  The  line  of  thought  thus  proceeds  to  the  deter- 
mination of  a  triangle.  Starting  with  one  side,  the  pupils 
by  experimental  testing  can  discover  that  only  two  other 
measurements  are  necessary  to  complete  the  figure,  these 
being  either  the  two  adjacent  angles  or  the  two  sides. 
With  these,  only  one  triangle  can  be  made.  By  starting  at 
one  corner  instead  of  a  side  it  can  further  be  shown  that 
two  sides  and  the  angle  included  by  them  will  also  deter- 
mine a  triangle. 

In  this  experimental  manner  the  pupils  will  arrive  at  the 
conclusions  demonstrated  in  Euclid  I.  4,  I.  8,  and  I.  26. 
These  principles  can  then  be  applied  to  considering  jointed 
rods  with  respect  to  their  rigidity.  Rods  jointed  so  as  to 
fonn  a  triangle,  or  a  figure  composed  of  triangles,  are 
theoretically  rigid,  and  the  pupils  by  comparing  these  with 
rods  jointed  to  form  a  quada-ilateral  can  suggest  means 
for  giving  these  latter  a  similar  quality.  This  principle 
of  rigidity  can  now  be  used  to  explain  the  sti-ucture  of 
beams  supporting  a  roof  and  of  cross-bars  for  holding  a 
gate. 


470  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

Tlie  ineasuremeut  of  lines  involves  tlie  operation  of  sight- 
ing, from  which  the  fact  that  two  points  determine  a 
straight  line  can  be  inferred  and  expressed  in  the  defini- 
tion that  a  straight  line  lies  evenly  between  its  extremities, 
or  that  it  is  the  shortest  distance  between  two  points. 

The  number  of  such  trains  of  thovight  is  very  large,  and 
they  can  all  arise  out  of  the  practical  operations  involved 
in  woodwork,  the  drawing  of  plans,  outlines,  and  isometric 
views  to  scale,  and  the  surveying  of  field  or  playground. 
Here  will  be  much  more  than  sufficient  to  keep  the  pupils 
fully  employed  in  the  time  given  to  geometry  during  the 
last  three  years  of  school  life. 

27.  The   pupils'    knowledge  of  geometry  is,  then,  con- 

„,    „  ^.      ,      stantly  growing  in  extent,  but  it  should  also 
The  Rational         -,       ''  ^,  ^  .      ^         .        ,., 

Factor  in  the      advance  towards  more  organised  rationality, 

Teaching  of  and  somewhere  about  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  year  a  definite  step  can  be  made  in  this 
direction.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  empiric  stage 
the  aim  of  the  teacher  was  to  convince  the  pupils  of  the 
truth  of  certain  main  principles,  by  measnring  and  com- 
paring supported  by  an  appeal  to  intuition.  jV.s  the  pupils' 
intelligence  develops  and  their  familiarity  with  the  subject- 
matter  increases,  and  as  the  speculative  instinct  becomes 
more  prominent  in  their  lives,  this  aim  will  change.  Then, 
as  we  have  seen,  rigid  demonstration  must  take  the  place 
of  measurement  and  intuition. 

The  first  step  tow^ards  this  is  for  the  pupils  to  grasp  the 
difference    between    conclusions     based    on 

"^i^^     r^^        measurement   and    those   based   on   demon- 
of  Proof.  1  •      1       T 

strated    proof.     Unless   this   be   done,  they 

never  realise  fully  and  clearly  why  the  test  of  the  eyes 

is  not  as  good  as  the  test  of  reason.     The  nature  of  this 

new   and   perfect   standard    of   truth  should  be  unfolded 

to  them  and  compared  with    the   weaknesses   of   the   uid. 


THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS.  47  J 

Though  this  is  their  first  examination  of  the  natvire  of 
proof  it  is  not  their  first  acquaintance  with  inference ;  con- 
clusions have  been  inferred  from  principles,  although  those 
principles  themselves  have  not  been  rigidly  proved.  In  such 
exercises  the  teacher  will  have  plenty  of  examples,  both  of 
conclusions  founded  on  proof  and  of  conclusions  based  on 
measurement,  to  illustrate  his  teaching.  A  number  of  such 
cases  should  be  critically  examined  and  compared,  and  the 
pupils  should  ask  in  each  case  :  How  do  I  know  this  to  be 
true  ?  They  will  discover  that  measurements  are  only  ap- 
proximate and  only  apply  to  instances  measured  ;  hence  on 
the  ground  of  a  measiu'ement  it  can  never  be  truly  affirined  : 
All  these  are  so  and  so.  The  final  weakness  of  measure- 
ment shows  itself  when  the  question  is  asked :  Even  if 
this  is  so  and  so.  or  even  if  all  these  are  so  and  so,  "tohij  are 
tliey  so  and  so  ?  In  asking  such  a  question  the  pupils  will 
discover  that  it  cannot  be  answered  by  measurement. 

If  now  a  proof  be  examined  in  a  similar  manner,  the 
conclusion  will  be  found  to  rest  on  other  known  facts  ;  it 
will  be  seen  to  be  true  of  necessity — it  must  be  so — and 
furthermore  that  it  is  not  only  true  of  this  case,  but  of  all 
such  cases.  The  note,  then,  that  must  dominate  the  new 
thought  is  logical  necessity.  The  pupils  must  grasp  that 
they  are  not  now  merely  to  be  convinced  that  a  thing  is  so 
and  so,  they  must  show  thn.t  by  the  nature  of  things  it  must 
be  so.  A  great  logical  difference  exists  between  the  mental 
attitudes  of  being  convinced  and  of  being  able  to  show  valid 
evidence  for  a  belief,  yet  subjectively  the  former  is  often 
mistaken  for  t.he  latter.  Pupils  of  twelve  years  of  age  are 
quite  convinced  when  they  see  one  triangle  exactly  super- 
posed on  another  that  the  one  equals  the  other,  and  to 
proceed  to  the  logical  proof  seems  to  them  a  work  of 
supererogation.  Moreover,  as  tliey  grow  older  they  become 
confirmed  in  habits  of  drawiuii'  conclusi(jus  from  insufiicicut 


472  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

data,  unless  their  training  is  of  sucli  a  character  as  to  form 
more  logical  habits.  It  is  one  of  the  aims  of  teaching 
geometry  to  give  such  a  training,  and  if  preliminary  analy- 
sis of  proof  and  measurement  brings  home  to  the  pupils 
the  force  of  '  must,'  and  if  when  they  seem  inclined  to  be 
content  with  the  evidence  of  the  senses  they  are  asked  for 
proof  of  logical  necessity,  the  new  test  of  validity  will  take 
root  in  their  minds,  and  habits  of  critical  judgment  will 
begin  to  be  formed. 

Most  text-books  of  geometry  begin  with  a  list  of  defini- 
tions, postulates,  and  axioms,  followed  by  the  problems  and 
theorems  founded  on  them.  For  expounding  the  final 
perfected  form  of  a  science  this  order  is  excellent,  but  it 
is  not  the  order  in  which  knowledge  develops  either  in  the 
race  or  in  the  individual. 

It  is  clear  from    the   historical  sketch  outlined  above 

„,    _  „  .  that  strict  definition  only  became  possible 

The  Definitions.    „,  ,  •   +  -^i    ^t  i 

after  a  long  acquaintance  with  things,  and 

arose  only  when  accuracy  in  thought  demanded  a  clear 

statement  of  meaning.     Such  also  is  the  order  of  growth 

in  the  human  mind.     Logical  definitions,  then,  should  not 

be  the  first  approach  to  the  study  of  geometry.     The  pupils 

should  have  become  famihar  with  the  meaning  of  words  by 

becoming  familiar  with  the  things  they  represent  before  the 

statement  of  meaning  in  its  final  perfection  is  demanded. 

Such  familiarisation  is  secured  by  the  practical  work  of 

the   empiric   and   constructive   stage.      But   when    strict 

proof  is  demanded  it  must  be  based  on  definite  meaning, 

and  so  the  inferences  in  the  rational  stage  of  the  teaching 

must  follow  from  a  clear  statement  of  exact  thought.     To 

begin  with  the  whole  list  of    Euclid's  definitions  would, 

however,  be  an  absurd  proceeding.     The  consideration  of 

isosceles  triangles  does  not  require  definition  of  parallels, 

and  that  definition  can  wait  until  necessity  demands  it. 


tSB   TEACHING   OF    MATHEMATICS.  473 

Eacli  definition  should  be  considered  Avheu  its  use  becomes 
necessary. 

The  first  to  be  taken  on  the  pupils  entering  this  stage  of 
geometry  are  the  exact  meanings  of  the  terms  point,  line, 
and  siu-face.  These  ideas  should  result  from  an  analysis  by 
the  pupils  of  their  observations  of  the  things  around  them. 
The  idea  of  boimdary,  of  separation  of  thing  from  thing 
should  be  clearly  grasped.  All  material  things  occupy 
space,  and  each  thing  is  separate  from  every  other.  Air  is 
separate  from  water,  yet  they  touch  each  other  and  the  one 
bounds  the  other.  The  meeting  place  is  a  siu-face.  Where 
two  surfaces  intersect  is  a  line,  and  if  an  enclosed  space  be 
thought  of  in  a  stu^ace  we  can  think  of  a  space  within 
touching  a  space  without,  yet  separated  from  it  by  a  Hue. 
Similarly  two  lines  intersect  in  a  point,  and  any  part  of  a 
hue  is  separated  from  the  remainder  by  points.  The  plan 
of  representing  point,  line,  and  surface  by  means  of  paper, 
pencil,  and  chalk  should  then  be  criticised  by  the  pupils  aud 
the  adequacy  or  inadequacy  of  such  means  determined. 
As  an  illustration  of  the  weakness  of  measui-ement  the 
pupils  should  examine  the  difference  between  the  definitions 
of  such  figures  as  isosceles  triangles  and  squai'e  and  these 
figures  when  dra^vn.  It  will  be  seen  that  all  constructions 
are  only  approximations  to  a  mathematical  ideal,  which  is 
never  fully  realised. 

Just  as  the  pupils  should  grasp  the  force  of  valid  proof, 
so  they  should  be  taught  to  understand  the  nature  of  a 
definition.  In  this  way  they  will  become  conscious  of  a 
standard  of  clearness,  precision,  and  conciseness  in  thought 
and  language,  and  from  tliis  point  strict  accui'acy  in 
expression  shoiild  be  demanded  from  them  and  nothing 
less  should  be  accepted.  Pupils  at  first  are  not  inchued 
to  bother  over  the  niceties  of  language.  They  will  say  a 
triangle   is   a  plane  figui-e  having  three  sides  and   three 


474  *HE    TEACHING    OP    BIATHEMATICS. 

angles,  without  any  sense  of  having  transgressed  the  rules 
of  definition,  and  it  is  only  by  their  knowing  something  of 
these  rules  that  some  definite  standard  by  which  to  criticise 
their  expressions  can  be  formed  in  their  minds. 

By  examining  the  various  properties  of  such  a  figure  as  a 
triangle  they  should  be  led  to  grasp  that  the  objects  of  a  class 
have  many  common  properties,  some  of  which  are  essential 
and  some  derived.  To  state  the  former  is  to  imply  the 
latter ;  hence  the  statement  of  the  latter  is  redundant  in 
the  definition.  Furthermore,  to  define  a  word  is  to  state 
the  essential  properties  in  such  a  way  as  to  limit  that 
Avord  to  just  one  class  of  objects.  By  knowing  this 
principle  the  pupils  can  appreciate  some  of  the  ambiguities 
that  arise  from  statements  of  meaning  of  too  loose  and 
general  a  character.  Though  this  task  of  worldng  out  the 
nature  of  a  definition  is  fittingly  begun  by  examining  the 
meanings  in  geometry,  where  the  relations  involved  can  be 
most  easily  analysed,  yet  the  knowledge  once  gained  will 
prove  an  excellent  weapon  in  exercises  in  literature  and 
composition,  when  the  meaning  of  words  met  with  or  used 
is  luider  discussion.  The  pupils  will  in  that  way  not  only 
have  a  standard  of  exact  and  precise  thought,  but  will  be 
gaining  the  infinitely  more  valuable  power  of  being  critical 
in  the  use  of  words  and  in  the  interpretation  of  meaning. 

Because  the  definition  of  a  word  states  the  properties 
every  individual  in  a  class  must  possess,  and  wanting  any 
of  which  an  ol)jeet  would  be  denied  the  class  name,  a 
definition  is  convertible.  "An  equilateral  triangle  has 
three  equal  sides"  can  also  be  expressed  as  "a  triangle 
having  three  equal  sides  is  equilateral,"  and  both  state- 
ments are  implied  in  "  None  but  an  equilateral  triangle  has 
three  equal  sides."  This  convertibility  of  a  statement  does 
not  apply  to  reasoned  conclusions,  and  it  is  important  that 
the   pupil   should   grasp   the   difference   in    this    respect 


ffiE    TEACHING   OF    MAtHEMAtlCS.  475 

between  defiuitions  and  such  conclusions.  In  Euclid  I.  5 
an  isosceles  triangle  is  proved  to  have  its  base  angles 
equal,  but  it  does  not  follow  from  this  that  equality  of 
base  angles  is  not  also  a  property  of  other  triangles.  This 
latter  idea  has  to  be  tested,  and  is  examined  in  I.  6,  which 
completes  the  proof  of  "  None  but  isosceles  triangles  have 
their  base  angles  equal." 

All  people,  whether  young  or  old,  frequently  and  easily 
fall  into  the  fallacy  of  extending  a  statement  to  include  its 
converse,  and  using  the  one  or  the  other  indiscriminately 
in  an  argument,  greatly  to  their  own  satisfaction  and  to 
the  discomfort  of  their  opponent,  who  very  probably  is  not 
in  a  condition  of  mental  enlightenment  to  detect  the  flaw. 
Here  again  geometry  can  be  made,  by  a  wise  teacher,  an 
aid  to  exact  thinking.  The  pupils  shovild  carefully  examine 
the  exact  limitations  of  every  conclusion  at  which  they 
arrive,  and  explicitly  state  its  converse,  thus  sho'sving  the 
direction  in  which  thought  must  progress  before  a  perfect 
convertible  law  can  be  proved. 

Just  as  a  definition  is  the  outcome  of  a  gradual  growth, 
so  an  axiom  is  the  final  stage  in  the  evolution 
of  proof.  Men  proved  conclusions  before 
they  knew  axioms,  though  they  used  them  without  being 
conscious  of  so  doing.  Indeed  they  made  use  of  axioms 
in  every  action  of  their  daily  lives,  and  in  this  unconscious 
use  lies  the  difficulty.  Axioms  are  so  much  a  part  of  our 
unconscious  selves,  so  much  woven  into  the  web  of  habitual 
thought  and  action,  that  they  elude  analysis  and  cannot 
easily  be  made  clear  and  distinct  to  consciousness.  Man 
arrived  at  them  by  examining  in  the  full  light  of  his  con- 
sciousness every  step  in  his  arguments  to  discover  the 
nature  of  the  evidence  he  had  employed.  He  thus  found 
that  assmnptions  had  been  made,  assumptions  so  simple 
that  he   could   find   notliing   simpler,    and  which,   cout^e- 


47  G  THE    TEACHING    OP    MATHEMATICS. 

quently,  he  could  uot  prove  by  reference  to  anything  else. 
He  could  not,  however,  reject  such  assumptions,  for  they 
were  the  basis  of  his  whole  fabric,  wliich  without  them 
would  crumble  to  the  ground. 

Such  is  their  histoiy  and  such  shoxild  be  their  growth  in 
the  minds  of  the  pupils.  Axioms  should  not  be  taught  be- 
fore the  proofs,  but  should  be  analysed  out  of  the  proofs 
after  the  assumptions  have  been  made.  When  they  are 
taught  before  the  proofs  the  pupils  rarely  give  them  their 
proper  place  in  the  structure  of  geometric  knowledge. 
When  thus  taught  they  seem  so  obvious  that  the  pupil 
wonders  why  he  has  been  called  on  to  learn  things  so 
ridiculously  easy,  and  therefore  treats  them  with  contempt 
because  he  does  not  fully  understand  their  place  in  the 
science.  To  appreciate  that  place  to  the  full,  to  grasp  the 
axioms  as  the  fundamental  basis  of  proof,  the  pupils  must 
reach  them  by  an  analysis  of  that  proof. 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  teaching  of  axioms  we  will  con- 

r,,    ^    ^.       r    sider  the  teacliing  of  one  of  the  proofs  and 

Illustration  of    .      .  ,     .  . 

the  Teaching      indicate  the  analysis  wluch  should  follow.    It 

of  Axioms,  "vviil  be  interesting,  perhaps,  to  take  the  case 
of  EucUd  I.  4,  wliich  the  pupils  should  ap- 
proach immediately  after  they  have  examined  the  nature  of 
proof.  This  theorem,  as  we  have  already  seen,  arises  out 
of  the  practical  problem  of  drawing  one  triangle  exactly 
Uke  another.  The  teacher  draws  a  triangle  ABC  on  the 
blackboard  and  allows  tbe  pupils  by  starting  at  a  given  point 
E  as  apex  to  discover  experimentally  what  must  be  known 
about  ABG  before  they  can  draw  a  triangle  BEF  exactly 
similar  in  shape  and  size.  It  requires  little  practical  in- 
sight for  them  to  realise  that  only  the  lengths  of  BA  and 
BC,  together  with  the  size  of  the  angle  ABC,  need  be 
known.  Making  ED  and  EF  equal  to  BA  and  BC,  and 
the  angle  BEF  equal  to  the  angle  ABC,  the  teacher  can 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  477 

complete  the  triangle  witliout  the  ueed  of  any  further 
measurement. 

When  the  pupils  are  asked  to  say  how  they  can  prove 
that  the  two  triangles  are  equal,  their  replies  will  probably 
indicate  that  they  still  rely  on  measm-eraent.  In  that  case 
they  should  be  reminded  that  mere  measurement  will  not 
satisfy,  that  what  is  required  of  them  is  to  prove  that  the 
triangles  by  their  very  nature  must  of  necessity  be  equal. 
This,  then,  becomes  the  definito  aim  of  the  pupils,  and  the 
teacher  can  proceed  to  the  proof,  substituting  for  convenience 
tvro  cardboard  triangles  for  those  on  the  blackboard. 

The  pupils  will  have  no  difficulty  in  proposing  super- 
position as  a  test  of  equality.  It  is  a  method  they  con- 
tinually use  in  daily  life.  To  express  the  precise 
mode  of  superposition,  however,  is  more  difficult.  The 
teacher  can  direct  them  to  examine  how  they  begin  to 
si;perpose  and  how  they  progress  with  it  so  as  to  secure  exact 
coincidence.  The  operation  being  thus  analysed,  expression 
should  easily  follow.  The  triangles  will  now  be  coincident 
and  the  pupils  seeing  tliis  will  think  the  whole  matter 
ended. 

Here  again  the  teacher  must  protest  against  their  self- 
satisfaction  and  remind  them  that  seeing  is  not  proving 
why  the  triangles  from  their  very  natui-e  must  be  equal. 

Tlien  will  follow  the  by  no  means  difficult  steps  of  prov- 
ing A  must  coincide  with  D,  BC  must  fall  along  JS'i^and  C 
must  coincide  with  F,  and  the  pupils  will  readily  suggest  the 
reasons  for  their  conclusions.  They  will  then  in  all  proba- 
liility  immediately  pass  on  to  slate  that  AG  coincides  with 
DF,  and  that,  as  all  the  parts  of  the  triangles  coincide, 
the  triangles  are  proved  equal.  With  tliis  proof  they 
will  be  quite  satisfied.  They  understand  it  and  have  in- 
deed suggested,  with  a  certain  amount  of  guidance,  all  the 
steps,  thougli  probably  at  this  stage  they  do  not  appreciate 


478  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

fully  why  so  long  a  time  has  been  spent  over  a  thing  that 
can  be  seen  straight  away.  Even  this  they  partly  grasp 
and  will  in  time  do  so  more  fully  as,  through  familiarising 
practice,  the  nature  of  proof  unfolds  itself  more  clearly 
under  their  gaze. 

The  teacher  however  should  be  far  from  satisfied.  The 
most  important  part  of  the  work  remains  to  be  done.  The 
proof  has  to  be  tested  to  see  that  every  link  in  the  chain  of 
evidence  is  sound,  and  the  teacher  must  so  guide  the  pupils 
in  tliis  examination  that  the  assumptions  which  they  have 
made,  and  of  which  as  yet  they  are  not  aware,  will  be 
brought  to  liwht.  Wliere  the  conclusion  rests  on  obvious 
data  its  soundness  will  be  evident.  The  first  difficulty  will 
come  when  the  pupils  are  asked  the  question :  If  A  coin- 
cides with  D  and  C  with  F  how  do  you  know  that  AE 
must  of  necessity  fall  on  and  coincide  with  DF?  Every 
attempt  of  the  pupils  to  solve  this  will  come  back  to  the 
fact  that  it  could  not  fall  anj-where  else.  They  can  under- 
stand that  if  it  did  fall  anywhere  else,  so  as  to  enclose  a 
space,  one  or  both  lines  would  have  to  be  bent,  and  can 
now  state  that  two  straight  lines  cannot  enclose  a  space. 
The  teacher  should  then  ask  how  they  know  that ;  can  they 
prove  it  ?  Vainly  the  pupils  will  endeavour  to  give  some 
evidence  for  the  statement.  Every  attempted  solution 
simply  assumes  the  point  they  have  to  prove,  and  they 
should  x-eceive  a  very  practical  lesson  in  havijig  the  fallacy 
of  '  begging  the  question  '  exposed. 

The  teacher  can  now  seize  his  opportunity  to  dilate  on 
the  incompleteness  of  the  [)roof,  on  there  being  a  weakness 
in  the  chain  of  evidence,  until  the  pupils  thoroughly  realise 
that  the  validity  of  the  whole  structure  rests  on  this  simple 
and  unexplainable  link.  The  impoi-tance  of  this  missing 
step  will  now  loom  large  in  their  imagination,  and  the 
simplicity  of  the  statement  and  then*  utter  incapacity  to 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  479 

prove  it  will  provoke  great  astonishment.  At  the  proper 
moment  the  teacher  should  tell  them  that  he  too  cannot 
prove  it,  and  that  up  to  the  present  no  one  has  yet  suc- 
ceeded, as  it  is  involved  in  the  very  meaning  of  'straight 
line ' ;  hence  it  miist  be  assumed  as  true  before  we  can 
proceed  to  accept  a  single  pi'oof. 

In  a  similar  manner  all  the  axioms  one  by  one  shouhl  be 
discovered  iu  the  proofs  gone  through  and  should  then  be 
tabulated  by  the  pupils  for  future  reference.  When  so 
taught  the  real  nature  of  these  truths  is  apprehended. 
They  are  grasped  as  the  foimdation  stone  of  every 
proof,  and  this  because  the  emphasis  has  been  placed,  not 
on  their  utter  obviousness,  but  on  the  position  they  hold  in 
the  whole  argument. 

Moreover,  by  approaching  the  axioms  in  this  way,  the 
pupils  will  receive  a  most  valuable  lesson  in  being  critical 
of  their  own  thought.  They  will  realise  that  their  thought 
has  weaknesses  previously  unsuspected,  and  if  such  exer- 
cises be  frequent  a  critical  power  will  be  fonned  that  will 
tend  to  guard  them  from  the  danger  of  jumping  too  hastily 
to  conclusions. 

The  above  example  of  a  piece  of  teaching  also  illus- 
trates the  way  in  which  the  pupils  should 
Propositions.  ^®  encouraged  to  work  through  all  the 
proofs.  As  they  develop  in  power  and  ex- 
perience, less  and  less  guidance,  suggestion,  and  critical 
help  will  be  required,  until  a  time  arrives  when  they  can  do 
without  help  altogether.  This  can,  indeed,  be  attempted 
from  the  first  in  the  less  complex  proofs,  and  in  all  cases  as 
little  suggestion  as  possible  should  be  given  by  the  teacher. 
Teaching  of  this  kind  is  undoubtedly  slow  at  first,  but 
gradually,  as  real  power  is  acquired  and  self-confidence  and 
initiative  are  gained,  the  work  will  progress  as  rapidly  as 
the  teacher  can  dn^ire. 


480  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

The  number  of  propositions  that  can  be  gone  through  in 
the  primary  school  is  not  large,  and  a  selection  will  have  to 
be  made.  These  should  deal  with  the  most  important  pro- 
perties of  triangles,  parallelograms,  and  circles.  By  this  is 
not  meant  that  the  whole  of  Books  I.  and  III.  of  Euclid's 
FAements  should  be  laid  under  contribution.  Only  pro- 
positions of  really  fundamental  interest  and  importance 
will  be  included  in  the  com-se. 

The  theorems  proved  should  be  used  to  throw  a  more 
rational  light  on  the  geometrical  ideas,  rules,  and  construc- 
tions gained  in  the  previous  empiric  work.  These  will  now 
be  proved  to  be  applications  of  such  general  theorems. 

The  chief  kinds  of  proof,  such  as  superposition  and 
indirect  proof,  should  be  examined.  We  have  already 
observed  that  the  former  is  a  method  of  common  every-day 
life,  and  this  is  also  true  of  the  latter  The  pupils  will 
appreciate  this  if  they  examine  a  simple  illustration  such 
as  the  following :  If  I  know  I  have  a  certain  key  in  one  of 
two  pockets  and  I  discover  it  is  not  in  one,  then  it  must  be 
in  the  other.  From  this  they  can  state  the  general  case : 
If  A  is  either  B  ox  C  and  is  not  B,  then  it  must  be  C  -. 
hence,  if  two  things  are  proved  equal,  then  they  are  not 
unequal,  and  if  proved  not  unequal,  then  they  are 
equal. 

In  memorising  the  conclusions  arrived  at  the  propositions 
should  be  grouped  according  to  general  similarities.  Thus 
Euclid  I.  5,  I.  6,  I.  18,  and  I.  19  can  be  summarised  thus : 

If  in  a  triangle  ABC 

>  A     >     A 

AB  be  =  J?C,  then  BCA  ^  BAG, 

<  < 

and  the  converses  of  these  also  are  ti-ue. 

Similarly  I.  4,  I.  8,  I.  24,  and  I.  25  can  be  systematised 
[It*  follows ; 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS.  481 

If  ABC  and  DEF  be  two  triangles  having  AB  and  GB 
respectively  equal  to  BE  and  EF, 

A     <     A  < 

when  ABC  =  DEF,  then  AC=DF, 

>  > 

and  the  converses  also  are  true. 

28.  We  have  not  attempted  to  plan  out  any  specific  course 

for  the  teacher,  for  he  should  be  quite  free 
Se^T^^hins     ^^  adapt  both  the  practical  and  theoretical 

geometry  he  teaches  to  the  life  in  the  district 
in  which  the  school  is  situated.  It  has  simply  been  our 
endeavour  to  lay  down  the  general  principles  which  any 
course  should  embody  if  it  is  to  be  a  real  educative  instru- 
ment for  giving  the  mind  and  body  an  effective  command 
over  the  physical  environment,  by  means  of  clear  thought, 
precise  speech,  and  exact  skill  in  measiu-ement.  In  doing 
this  we  have  purposely  laid  stress  on  the  analysis  of 
thought,  which  is  an  essential  feature  of  the  teaching  of 
rational  geometry  if  the  pupils  are  reaUy  to  understand  it 
and  esteem  it  of  value.  We  do  not,  however,  wish  to  mini- 
mise the  importance  of  practical  work,  for  throughout  we 
have  been  governed  by  the  idea  that  mind  and  body  make 
up  one  organic  whole,  the  body  being  the  instrument  through 
which  the  mind  is  brought  to  know  the  external  world,  and 
the  power  by  which  it  executes  its  purposes  in  that  world. 
Eyes  and  hands  are  the  instruments  of  learning,  and  through 
eyes  and  hands  the  knowledge  that  results  finds  its  realisa- 
tion. But  they  are  only  the  instruments.  It  is  the  mind 
that  like  a  magician's  wand  turns  things  of  clay  into 
living  and  spiritual  essence.  To  live  this  higher  intellectual 
life  in  real  search  for  truth,  probing  with  keen  judgment 
and  cahn  resolution  into  one's  opinions,  is  indeed  an  ideal 
that  will  not  be  reached  in  boyhood,  but  is  nevertheless  a 
goal  towai'ds  which  the  youthful  face  should  be  turned. 

PB.  TG.  3  1 


482  THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 

The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  ; — 

On  the  Teaching  of  Mathematics : 

Smith  :  The  Teaching  of  Elementary  (The  Macmillan 

Mathematics  ...         ...         ...  4/6        Co.). 

Young :    The   Teaching   of    Mathe- 
matics in  the  Higher  Schools  of 

Prussia  2/6     (Longmans). 

McLellan   and   Dewey  :     The    Psy- 
chology of  Number 6/-      (E.Arnold). 

Branford  :  A  Study  of  Mathematical  (Oxford  Univ. 

Education     4/6        Press). 

Lodge  :  Easy  Mathematics 4/6     (Macmillan). 

On  the  History  of  Mathematics  : 

Cajori  :    A  History   of   Elementary  (The  Macmillan 

Mathematics  ...         ...         ...  6/6        Co.). 

Frankland  :  The  Story  of  Euclid   ...  1/-      (Newnes). 

Cunnington  :    The   Story   of   Arith- 
metic   3/6     (Sonnenschein). 

On  the  Subject- Matter  of  Mathematics  : 

Chrystal :  Introduction   to  Algebra 

(Chaps.  1-6) 5/-     (A.  and  C.  Black). 

Workman :     The     Tutorial     Arith- 
metic  4/6     (Clive). 

French  and    Osborne  :    Graphs     ...     1/6     (Clive). 
Cracknell  :      Elementary     Practical 

Mathematics  ...         ...         ...     8/6     (Longmans). 

Consterdine and  Andrews:  Practical 

Arithmetic  ...         ...         ...     2/6     (Murray). 

Consterdine  and  Barnes  :   Practical 

Mathematics  ...         ...         ...     2/6     (Murray). 

Rice     and     Clifford  :    A     Heuristic 

Arithmetic 2/6     (Marshall). 

Godfrey   and  Siddons  :   Elementary  (Cambridge  Univ. 

Geometry      ...         ...         ...         ...     3/6        Press). 

Hamilton    and    Kettle  :     A     First 

Geometry  Book       2/-      (E,  Arnold). 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MATHEMATICS. 


483 


Workman  and  Cracknell  :  Geo- 
metry, Theoretical  and  Practical 
(Part  I.,  2/6 ;  Part  II.,  2/- ;  Part 
III.,  1/6)      

Nesbitt :  Inductive  Geometry 

Committee  appointed  by  the  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Improvement  of 
Geometry :  The  Elements  of  Plane 
Geometry     ... 

Fletcher:  Geometry... 

Woi'thington  :  A  First  Course  of 
Physical  Laboratory  Practice     . . . 


6/- 
1/6 


4/6 
1/6 


(Clive). 
(Sonnenschein). 


(Sonnenschein). 
(E.  Arnold). 


4/6     (Longmans). 


i. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


THE     TEACHING     OF     FOKM. 

1.  Among  the  relations  with  the  material  world  into 

which  every  individual   must  enter  that  of 

Form  as  a  spatial   form  is  one  of  the  most  universal. 

Mode  of  Ex-      ^        ^^  .  <>    i  i  i    i? 

pressing  Ideas.  Everything  we  can  see  or  leel  has  such  form, 

and  usually  that  form  can  be  more  or  less 
modified  by  man's  exertions  when  he  wills  such  modifi- 
cation as  a  mode  of  adapting  his  material  environment 
more  perfectly  to  his  requirements.  Thus,  the  craftsman 
impresses  on  the  material  in  which  he  works  a  form 
different  from  that  it  had  before,  and  there  is  produced 
an  object  more  or  less  perfectly  embodying  a  human 
idea,  and,  as  a  consequence,  more  or  less  perfectly  fitted 
to  serve  some  human  end.  The  end  may  be  entirely 
one  of  use,  as  when  a  savage  constructs  a  rude  hut 
to  shelter  liim  from  the  weather.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  may  be  essentially  one  of  pleasure,  as  when  an  artist 
produces  a  beautiful  pictm-e  or  statue,  whose  reason  for 
existence  is  that  it  gratifies  the  taste.  Or  it  may  combine 
both  the  useful  and  the  pleasurable,  as  in  a  beautiful  piece 
of  architectm-e. 

Whenever  a  man  wishes  to  convey  his  ideas  to  another 
mind  through  the  medium  of  sight  or  touch  he  does  so 
by  expressing  them  in  some  spatial  form.  For  example, 
printing  and  writing  are  merely  the  impressing  of  certain 
conventional  forms  on  suitable  material.  These  conven- 
tional forms  represent  words,  and  the  words  thus  suggested 
to   the   mind   bring  with   them   ideas  of   their   meaning. 

484 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  485 

Now  if  the  visible  form  of  an  absent  object  is  described 
iu  words,  it  is  evident  that  a  very  complex  mental  process 
has  to  be  gone  through  before  the  hearer  or  reader  forms  a 
mental  picture  of  that  form,  and  that  this  process  is  at  all 
points  liable  to  error.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  a  direct 
representation  of  that  form  be  given  by  drawing  it  or 
by  moulding  it  in  some  plastic  material,  the  interpreta- 
tion is  much  easier  and  less  hable  to  error.  Hence,  the 
expression  of  spatial  form  is  most  perfect  when  the  form 
itself  is  reproduced. 

Still  more  emphatically  is  this  true  when  the  form  in 
question  is  ideal ;  that  is,  when  it  originates  in  the  thought 
of  some  individual  and  has  no  existence  in  the  material  and 
visible  world.  How  can  a  sculptor  express  his  ideas  except 
by  making  statues,  or  a  painter  without  painting  pictures  ? 
Obviously  no  words  would  ever  serve  to  convey  fully  the 
artistic  idea  from  the  mind  of  the  artist  to  the  minds  of  other 
people.  Without  the  artist's  power  to  embody  his  ideas 
in  visible  and  tangible  form  the  world  would  have  been 
infinitely  the  poorer.  Indeed,  we  cannot  imagine  a  world 
in  which  man  was  devoid  of  all  power  of  shaping  things  to 
his  own  needs.  One  aspect  of  the  advance  in  civilisation, 
indeed,  is  the  continual  development  of  this  power  and  its 
wider  and  wider  application. 

2.  We  have  emphasised  this  human  control  over  fonn, 
and  the  important  part  which  modification 
The  Apprehen-  Qf  form  plays  in  human  activity,  because 
unless  this  is  clearly  grasped  the  teaching  of 
form  will  not  be  based  on  the  right  principles.  For  the 
most  obvious  thiag  about  form  is  that  it  can  be  seen,  and 
from  this  arises  a  tendency  to  try  to  teach  form  mainly 
through  the  sight. 

Even  without  entering  into  a  psychological  analysis  of 
the  i-elatiou  between  sight  on  the  one  hand  and  touch  and 


486  THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM. 

movement  on  tlie  other,  a  brief  consideration  of  the  fact 
that  the  visible  form  changes  with  every  alteration  of  the 
spatial  relation  between  the  object  and  the  eye  of  the 
observer  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  typical  form  we 
derive  from  a  series  of  visual  impressions  of  an  object  is  an 
abstraction.  It  is  at  most  the  form  in  one  definite  and 
pai-ticular  position  relative  to  the  eye,  and  it  is  generally 
not  even  that.  Indeed  it  can  never  be  that  in  the  case  of 
a  solid  object,  for  we  can  never  place  object  and  eye  in 
such  relative  positions  that  we  can  see  all  round  it.  We 
think  of  an  orange,  for  example,  as  approximately  spherical, 
but  we  never  see  more  than  half  the  globular  form  at  once. 
But  if  we  take  the  orange  in  our  hands,  and  feel  its  shape, 
we  get  a  much  truer,  because  a  more  direct  and  complete, 
impression  of  its  form  than  any  amount  of  looking  can  give 
us.  In  the  same  way  we  attain  a  clearer  and  more  correct 
estimation  of  the  distance  of  place  from  place  by  walking 
from  one  to  the  other  than  by  merely  looking  at  the  inter- 
vening country. 

If,  now,  we  take  a  body  too  large  to  hold  in  the  hands, 
as,  for  instance,  a  building,  we  stiU  find  that  impressions 
of  form  are  given  through  movement  as  well  as  through 
sight.  In  looking  at  one  side  of  a  building  we  do  not 
simply  look,  but  we  move  the  eye  from  point  to  point, 
following  its  lines.  Often,  indeed,  we  cannot  see  more 
than  a  part  of  the  side  we  are  examining  at  any  one 
moment,  and  our  total  impression  of  the  whole  is  a 
combination  of  many  partial  impressions  made  possible 
because  they  were  obtained  by  certain  series  of  movements 
of  the  eye  which  we  have  learnt  to  interpret  as  easily  as  we 
interpret  the  direct  impressions  of  sight.  But  even  this 
combination  only  gives  us  the  impression  of  one  side,  or  of 
a  certain  combination  of  two  sides,  in  which  we  see  each 
distorted  from  what  we  call  the  true  shape.    Tu  order  to  get 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  487 

similar  impressions  of  the  other  sides  we  must  walk  round 
the  building,  and  our  apprehension  of  its  plan  is  derived 
from  a  synthesis  of  the  amount  of  leg  movement  required 
in  passing  along  each  face  with  the  amount  of  eye  move- 
ment in  scanning  each  face  from  end  to  end. 

We  see,  then,  that  clear  impressions  of  form  are  only 
obtained  when  touch  or  movement  is  combined  with  sight. 
Do  such  impressions  constitute  a  knowledge  of  form  ?  We 
might  as  well  ask  whether  the  understanding  of  spoken  or 
written  language  constitutes  a  knowledge  of  speech.  Many 
people  can  read  French  or  German  with  very  fair  facUity 
who  cannot  express  themselves  in  the  language.  Can  such 
persons  be  said  to  know  French  or  Grerman?  It  may  be 
said  they  have  a  one-sided  knowledge,  for  they  can  receive 
ideas  through  the  medium  of  the  language  though  they  have 
no  power  of  using  it  to  express  their  own  ideas.  But  even 
this  states  the  case  too  favourably,  for  expression  and  im- 
pression react  upon  each  other  and  each  helps  to  perfect 
the  other,  so  that  where  there  is  no  power  of  expression  the 
power  of  impression  itself  is  maimed  and  crippled. 

Let  us  apply  this  to  the  knowledge  of  fonn,  wliich  is,  as 
we  have  seen,  analogous  to  speech  as  a  mode  of  human 
expression.  The  young  child  liimself  shows  us  that  to  learn 
form  is  essentially  an  active  process.  Watch  hun  represent 
his  impressions  in  drawings,  which  examination  shows  to 
be  essentially  schematic  expressions  of  his  knowledge  of  the 
characteristic  visible  features  of  the  objects  represented. 
When  a  child  draws  a  human  face  in  profile  and  yet 
inserts  two  eyes,  it  is  not  because  he  is  attempting  to  draw 
what  he  has  seen  or  because  he  thinks  a  man  has  two  eyes 
on  one  side  of  his  face,  but  because  he  instinctively  rebels 
against  the  limitations  of  visual  impressions,  and  wants  to 
express  in  one  sketch  all  that  his  various  visual  impressions 
have  taught  him.     Of  coiu'se,  we  do  not  mean  that  the  child 


488  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

consciously  goes  through  such  a  train  of  thought:  we  are  ana- 
lysing what  goes  on  in  his  mind  unconsciously  to  himself. 

Watch  him  again  when  he  examines  a  new  toy ;  how 
he  turns  it  about  and  looks  at  it  from  every  point  of  view, 
and  handles  it  in  eveiy  way.  But  far  from  stopping  there, 
if  he  can  possibly  puU  it  to  pieces  he  wiU  do  so,  and  this 
not  because  he  is  a  "troublesome,  destructive  little 
nuisance,"  as  mother  or  nurse  is  apt  to  think,  but  be- 
cause of  his  innate  tendency  to  explore  the  shapes  and 
makes  of  things  by  every  means  in  his  power. 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  impulse  to  find  out  how 
things  are  made  is  an  impidse  to  discover  the  form  in 
which  their  parts  are  related  to  each  other.  We  must  go 
further.  The  normal  child,  if  not  checked,  does  not  simply 
ptdl  an  object  to  pieces  :  he  proceeds  to  reconstruct  it, 
either  in  the  original  form,  or  in  a  new  one.  One  of  the 
most  valuable  featiu-es  in  Froebel's  Kindergarten  Grifts  is 
the  ease  with  which  new  forms  can  be  constructed  with 
them,  just  as  one  of  their  most  .serious  defects  is  the  re- 
striction of  the  forms  to  geometrical  figures. 

The  cliild's  spontaneous  modes  of  acting,  then,  show  that 
he  has  an  innate  tendency  to  seek  knowledge  of  form  and 
to  utilise  his  knowledge  in  the  production  of  form.  In 
this  he  reflects  a  long  line  of  heredity.  Mankind  has  been 
engaged  in  essentially  the  same  processes  from  the  very 
beginning,  and,  as  we  have  said,  without  them  mankind 
itself  is  inconceivable. 

3.  The  child's  life,  then,  will  necessarily  lead  liim  to  some 
apprehension  of  form  and  some  power  of  pro- 
Need  for  ducing  form.    If  it  did  not,  education  in  this 
Training  t       <  •  i  t  i      •  -,1 
in  Form.            du'ection  would  be  impossible,  for  education 

can  only  train  existing  powers  and  direct 
existing  modes  of  activity.  In  form,  as  in  language,  such 
systematic   training   is  necessary  if  the   child  is  ever  to 


THE    TEACHINa    OP    FORM.  489 

develop  into  the  adult  he  has  it  in  him  to  become ;  in  other 
■words,  if  he  is  to  be  as  useful  in  the  world  as  he  has  the 
capacity  to  be.  And  such  training  to  be  effective  must  take 
hold  of  all  the  modes  of  activity  by  which  form  enters  into 
human  life.  The  end  in  view  is  that  the  pupil  should 
attain  a  true  knowledge  of  form,  and  really  to  know  form 
is  to  be  able  to  represent  form  in  appropriate  material,  and 
that  not  by  mere  copying,  but  independently  of  everything 
except  the  idea  of  form  in  the  mind.  As  well  might  we 
say  that  a  person  knows  a  language  when  he  has  no  power 
of  expressing  his  thoughts  in  that  language  as  that  he 
knows  form  when  he  can  merely  copy  form. 

4.  So  far  we  have  spoken  simply  of  form.     But  form  is 

by  itself  a  mere  abstraction  wliich  cannot 
Qualities  exist  alone,  but  must  always  be  manifested 

from  Form.        ^^  some  material  and  marked  by  some  colour. 

The  colour  we  appreciate  by  sight,  the  tex- 
ture of  the  material  is  made  obvious  by  touch  and  pressm'e, 
but  the  real  nature  of  the  material  can  only  be  known  when 
it  is  actually  manipulated  with  the  view  of  changing  its  form. 
Thus  it  becomes  plain  that  a  ti'ue  teaching  of  form  is  a 
teaching  it  in  its  actual  nature— as  the  form  of  some  par- 
ticTilar  kind  of  material  with  some  particular  colour.  This 
leads  us  back  to  the  point  we  reached  before,  and  streng- 
thens the  conclusion  we  there  drew,  that  fonn  can  only  be 
taught  effectively  when  it  is  taught  constnictively,  and 
when  in  teaching,  as  in  life,  impressions  are  valued  just  in  so 
far  as  they  facilitate  the  actualising  of  purposes  and  ideas. 

5.  A  further  point  must  now  be  made.     It  has  already 

been  noted  that  form  may  be  beautiful  or 
Aesthetic  devoid   of   beauty,   and   between   these  two 

Form.  extremes  is  an  indefinitely  large  ntunber  of 

gradations.  This  is  not  the  place  to  enter 
into  a  discussion  of  what  constitutes  beauty.     Suffice  it 


490  THE    TEACHING    OE    FORM. 

now  to  say  that  under  beauty  of  form  we  include  all  the 
elements  of  visual  beauty — grace  of  outline,  appropriate- 
ness of  details,  tone  and  harmony  of  colours. 

Of  all  these  qualities  a  child  has  an  appreciation,  but  his 
appreciation  is  crude.  He  loves  gaudy  colours  and  strong 
contrasts,  and  his  feeling  for  grace  of  form  is  even  more 
embryonic  than  that  for  beauty  of  colour.  But  he  delights 
in  a  beautiful  flower,  or  butterfly,  or  bird,  and,  indeed,  his 
expression  of  delight  when  he  names  such  things  '  pretty ' 
is  generally  well  deserved.  He  does  not  know  why  they 
please  him :  he  only  feels  the  gratification.  But  there  is 
the  germ  from  which  an  educated  taste  may  spring.  In  a 
few  souls  it  springs  spontaneously  and  irresistibly:  they 
are  the  great  artists  of  the  world.  In  the  majority  of 
souls  it  requires  careful  training,  or  it  will  develop  but 
little,  if  at  aU — especially  in  a  life  passed  amidst  the 
generally  grimy  and  ugly  features  of  too  many  modem 
towns.  It  is  not  meant  that  the  school  sho\ild  attempt 
to  turn  all  its  pupils  into  artists,  but  simply  that 
it  should  aim  at  leading  each  to  a  higher  level  of 
taste,  and  thus  should  give  an  added  value  and  interest 
to  life. 

Though  few  can  become  artists,  all  can  become  more  or 
less  appreciative  of  beauty,  whether  found  in  nature  or  in 
art.  And  though  we  may  tliink  the  statement  that 
"industry  without  art  is  brutality"  somewhat  ex- 
treme, yet  we  must  grant  that  a  feeling  for  beauty 
is  a  powerful  auxiliary  to  more  directly  moral  means 
of  ennobling  and  purifying  life.  For  we  must  hold 
with  Plato  that  goodness,  truth,  and  beauty  are  closely 
akin. 

6.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  training  in  form,  thus  under- 
stood, brings  the  child  into  many  true  and  valuable 
relations     with    the     world,    and    that    these    relations 


THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM.  491 

are  typical  of  those  by  which  man  is  gradually  win- 
General  ^i^g  masteiy  over  his  material  environ- 
Functions  of  ment.  They  are  relations  into  which  each 
Training  in  individual  must  enter  in  some  way ;  the 
school  training  should  aim  at  securing  that 
he  enters  into  them  as  effectively  as  possible. 

But  it  is  also  clear  that  such  training  brings  him  into 
truer  relations  with  liis  human  environment.  It  helps 
him  to  iinderstand  and  to  evaluate  rightly  the  forms 
of  activity  by  which  the  community  in  which  he  lives 
maintains  itself  and  bends  the  forces  of  nature  to  its 
purposes. 

The  great  danger  of  the  school  is  always  that  it  may  put 
itself  out  of  relation  to  real  life.  Then  it  strives  in  vain  to 
awaken  its  pupils'  interest  in  its  work,  and  consequently  to 
evoke  their  hearty  co-operation.  And  without  this  its  real 
effect  on  their  lives  is  but  small.  When  he  is  trained  to  do 
tilings,  tlie  child  sees  at  once  a  purpose  in  the  doing,  liis 
interest  and  willing  effort  are  called  foi-tli.  One  part  of 
school  work  is  seen  by  him  to  be  a  real  help  in  his  life,  his 
interest  in  it  is  excited,  and  tliis  interest  predisposes  him 
to  find  the  more  abstract  and  intellectual  occupations  of 
the  school  also  worthy  of  effort  to  accomplish.  And  when 
the  various  modes  of  physical  activity  are  related  to  these 
other  and  more  distinctly  mental  modes  of  learning  the 
interest  becomes  cumulative.  That  such  correlation  is 
possible  and  even  easy  throughout  will  be  shown  in  the 
sequel. 

Of  the  value  of  real  mental  culture  there  can  be  no 
doubt ;  of  the  evil  of  limiting  school  work  to  such  culture 
there  is  also  no  doubt.  On  the  necessity  of  making  all 
acquired  knowledge  fruitful  in  some  way  we  have  already 
insisted.  The  world  has  always  rightly  held  in  but 
small   esteem   the   mere  pedants -the  intellectual  sponge 


492  THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM. 

who  for  ever  absorbs  information,  bixt  never  turns  his 
accumulated  stores  to  any  pui'pose  of  value  to  mankind. 
That  some  men's  lives  should  be  devoted  mainly  to 
scholarship  is  good,  provided  that  such  scholarship  is 
turned  to  account  by  increasing  the  knowledge  and  under- 
standing of  mankind.  But  the  primary  school  may  well 
take  as  an  axiom  that  its  function  is  to  prepare  its  pupils 
to  Kve  an  intelligent,  practical  life,  and  not  a  life  mainly  of 
thought  and  investigation.  Those  few  of  them  who  are 
fitted  for  such  a  life  should  find  their  way  by  the  help  of 
scholarships  to  higher  schools. 

Nor  should  the  primary  school  be  deterred  by  the  cry  of 
*  utility.'  True  utihty  should  be  its  aim,  as,  indeed,  it 
should  be  the  aim  of  schools  of  every  grade.  Nothing  is 
more  false  than  the  doctrine  that  the  primary  school  should 
take  utility  as  its  purpose,  while  the  secondary  school 
should  seek  culture.  The  aim  of  each  should  be  a  cultiu-ed 
utility  or  a  useful  culture — -it  matters  not  which  way  it  is 
put — though  the  exact  form  of  the  means  through  which 
that  aim  is  sought  will  not  be  the  same.  What  every 
school  has  to  avoid  is  that  narrow  utility  which  trains  the 
young  definitely  for  one  kind  of  practical  occupation.  That 
is  really  not  a  true  training  in  doing  at  all,  for  by  its 
narrow  specialisation  it  limits  the  development  of  the 
power  of  doing  and  prevents  it  from  being  exercised  in 
directions  much  more  numerous  than  those  in  which  it 
gives  practice. 

At  no  time  more  than  in  the  pi'esent  practical  and  in- 
dustrial age  has  a  purely  bookish  instruction  in  schools 
been  out  of  relation  to  real  life.  And  it  cannot  be  too 
often  insisted  that  when  this  is  the  case  the  school  must 
largely  fail  to  fulfil  its  true  function  in  the  community. 
To  train  in  real  purposeful  physical  doing  is,  then,  an 
essential  part  of  the  work  of  every  school  whicli  would  fit 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FOBM.  493 

its  pupils  to  enter  into  the  real  life  of  the  world  about 
them,  both  now  and  in  the  futui-e.  Moreover,  if  such 
training  is  sufficiently  varied  it  often  helps  the  pupil  to 
discover  the  kind  of  occupation  for  which  he  is  best 
adapted,  and  thus  tends  to  minimise  the  likelihood  of  his 
entering  on  a  walk  in  life  for  which  he  has  little  aptitude, 
and  which,  as  a  natural  consequence,  never  calls  out  his 
best  efforts,  if  even  it  does  not  become  positively  distasteful 
to  him.  It  thus  does  something  to  minimise  one  of  the 
most  common  forms  of  social  waste. 

7.  The  argument  which  has  been  developed  leads,  how- 
ever, to  the  conclusion  that  training  in  various 

The  Develop-  physical  dexterities  is  an  essential  part  of  the 
ment  of  Mani-      -.        ..         ^  i  -n        •,     •  ,•         n 

pulative  Skill,    education  or  every  child  quite  irrespective  of 

the  grade  of  school  he  attends.  For  it  has 
been  shown  that  the  relations  with  which  such  training 
deals  are  universal  among  mankind,  and  in  some  form  and 
to  some  extent  enter  into  every  human  life.  They  are 
functions  without  which  life  itself  would  be  impossible. 
Consequently,  the  question  whether  they  are  well  or  ill  per- 
formed cannot  be  indiiferent  to  any  individual,  no  matter 
what  his  station  and  occupation  in  life.  And  as  every 
life-function  has  its  inner  as  well  as  its  outer  aspect,  the 
individual  life  itself  must  be  mutilated  if  any  essential 
form  of  functioning  is  neglected. 

Now  one  of  the  most  fundamental  and  constant  activi- 
ties of  life  is  perception,  or  apprehension  of 

^^j^o?-!?'^  the  various  elements  of  our  surroundings, 
and  Skill.  .  .        » 

In  all  such  apprehension,  form,  with  its 
inseparable  correlates,  material  and  colour,  plays  an  im- 
portant part,  and  we  have  seen  that  our  knowledge  of  these 
qualities  only  becomes  real  and  fruitful  when  we  deal  with 
thein  by  physical  activity,  and  do  not  simply  contemplate 
them   in   calm   mental   isolation.     Throughout    life,   and 


494  THE    TEACHING   OF    FORM. 

especially  in  its  earlier  days,  the  essential  question  about 
any  object  is  what  we  can  do  with  it,  and  we  learn  its 
qualities  as  a  means  of  answering  that  practical  question. 
Increase  of  perceptual  knowledge  means,  therefore,  increase 
in  power  to  modify  things  in  various  ways  so  as  to  adapt 
them  to  our  purposes.  And  this  continually  increasing 
executive  power  we  call  manipulative  skill. 

It  follows  that  perceptual  knowledge  and  skill  are 
inseparable — an  increase  in  the  one  carries  with  it  an 
increase  in  the  other.  In  every  practical  activity  we  have 
a  series  of  movements  suggested  and  determined  by  the 
perception  of  the  continually  changing  circumstances  as 
the  action  advances  towards  the  desired  end.  Skill  simply 
means  that  all  such  movements  are  well  adapted  to  secure 
the  result.  When  skill  is  absent  the  movements  are 
awkwardly  performed,  and  the  purpose  is  imperfectly 
attained.  At  first  all  series  of  movements  are  awkward, 
but  with  practice  there  comes  a  continually  increasing 
adaptation,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  this  is  secured  is 
much  increased  when  the  practice  is  guided  by  imitation  of 
a  good  model  of  the  activity.  When  skill  has  been 
attained  the  series  of  movements  exhibits  a  large  and 
important  element  of  automatism.  Attention  is  no  longer 
given  to  the  detailed  execution  of  each  successive  step,  but 
is  kept  fixed  on  the  result  to  be  attained  and  on  the 
general  adaptation  of  the  means  to  its  attainment.  The 
series  is  willed  as  a  whole,  the  kind  of  activity  necessary 
is  decided  upon,  and  the  actual  carrying  out  of  the  move- 
ments is  left  to  the  established  habits  of  motor  adjust- 
ment. Every  muscular  contraction  occurs  just  when  and 
where  it  is  seen  to  be  needed. 

Now,  obviously,  until  skill  is  attained  we  cannot  learn 
inuch  about  the  possibilities  of  various  materials  in  serving 
our  purposes ;  we  are  too  much  taken  up  with  ascertaining 


THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM.  495 

the  kind  of  qualities  possessed  by  the  material  to  be  able 
to  take  the  further  step  of  fitting  those  qualities  into  our 
scheme  of  life.  Thus,  while  skill  is  absent,  perception 
remains  in  its  earlier  stages,  and  as  skill  grows  it  advances  to 
a  fuller  and  fuller  apprehension  of  the  meaning  and  values 
of  things.  For  example,  till  skill  in  the  working  of  marble 
is  attained  tlie  woTild-be  sculptor  cannot  realise  the  possi- 
bilities of  marble  as  a  vehicle  for  embodying  artistic  ideas. 
Similarly,  only  when  the  child  has  command  over  brush 
or  pencil  are  the  possibilities  of  beauty  lying  hidden  in 
pigment  or  hue  made  real  to  him.  It  is  plain,  then,  that 
though  physical  activity  and  perception  can  be  divided  in 
thought  they  cannot  be  separated  in  practice  without 
injury  to  both. 

This  is  brought  home  to  us  stiU  more  forcibly  Avhen  we 

study   the   physiology   of   the   brain.      The 
Physiological  .   ;  f ■  i  ^  ^i 

and  Psycho-      pomts  essential  tor  our  purpose  are  thus  put 

logical  Import-  by  Sir  James  Crichton  Browne : — 

tkallStiea.  "'^^^^  ^^'^^^  ^^  ^^o^'  ^^  ^^s  at  one  time 
supposed,  a  single  organ  acting  as  a  whole, 
but  a  congeries  of  organs  capable  of  more  or  less  indepen- 
dent action,  and  in  its  central  region  there  is  an  area  whicli 
is  the  fountain  of  all  muscular  movements,  in  which  will, 
intention,  or  memory  are  involved,  and  the  reservoir  of  aU 
impressions  derived  from  muscular  movements.  This 
motor  .  .  .  area  of  the  brain  .  .  .  again  is  not  a  single  organ 
acting  as  a  whole,  but  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  distinct 
centres  presiding  over  groups  of  muscles,  an  excitation  of 
which  is  followed  by  definite  movements.  .  .  . 

"  But  motor  centres  in  the  brain,  although  capable  in  a 
way  of  spontaneous  and  independent  action,  do  not,  as 
a  rule,  act  singly,  but  in  combined  and  blended  action 
with  eacli  other  and  with  sensory  centres,  and  in  order 
that  centre  may  thus  co-operate  with  centre,  pathways  of 


496  THE    TEACHINO    OF    FOEM. 

communication  must  be  opened  between  them.  ...  A  brain 
that  is  to  be  serviceable  must  be  used  and  well  used,  and 
what  is  true  of  a  brain  is  true  of  all  its  parts,  so  every 
brain  centre  should  be  used  and  well  used.  If  a  brain 
centre  is  not  used  at  all  it  undergoes  degeneration ;  if  it  is 
imperfectly  used  it  remains  weak  and  sluggish  ;  if  it  is  ex- 
cessively used  it  becomes  u-ritable  and  imstable.  And  the 
just  use  of  every  brain  centre  necessarily  implies  the  just  use 
of  the  bodily  organs  with  which  it  is  connected. ...  It  is  impos- 
sible to  establish  communication  between  centre  and  centre 
unless  the  muscles  subtending  these  centres  are  used. . . , 

"  But  I  must  go  further  and  maintain  that  use  to  be 
truly  useful  to  brain  centres  must  be  resorted  to  at  the 
proper  time,  and  that  exercise  has  an  even  more  essential 
relation  to  the  growth  and  development  of  the  centres  than 
to  the  maintenance  of  their  healthy  activity. 

"The  several  centres  of  the  brain  do  not  expand  and 
blossom  all  at  once.  They  evolve  gradually  and  in  succes- 
sion, and  in  every  brain  there  are,  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  zones  of  budding  spring,  of  luxuriant  simimer,  and  of 
autumnal  harvest,  opulent  or  meagre,  as  the  case  may  be. 
.  .  .  We  know  that  each  centre  has  its  nascent  or  growth 
period,  which  is  sometimes  very  short,  as  it  must  be  in  the 
centre  in  which  the  movements  of  sucking  are  co-ordinated, 
and  sometimes  very  long,  as  in  those  in  which  are  co- 
ordinated the  movements  of  the  hand  from  its  first  feeble 
grasp  up  to  its  consmnmate  achievements  in  shaping  and 
making.  But  whether  the  nascent  period  be  long  or  short, 
it  is  of  paramount  importance  that  it  should  be  taken  ad- 
vantage of  while  it  lasts,  and  that  the  organs  related  to  the 
centre  should  be  duly  exercised  during  its  continuance.  If 
the  nascent  period  is  permitted  to  slip  past  unimproved  no 
subsequent  labom-  or  assiduity  will  compensate  for  the  loss 
thus  sustained  . . . 


THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM.  497 

"  The  nascent  period  of  the  hand  centres  has  not  been 
accurately  measm-ed  off,  but  it  probably  extends  from  the 
first  year  of  life  to  the  end  of  adolescence,  its  most  active 
epoch  being  from  the  fom'tli  to  the  fifteenth  year,  after 
which  these  centres,  in  the  large  majority  of  persons,  be- 
come somewhat  fixed  and  stubborn.  Hence  it  can  be 
understood  that  boys  and  gu-ls  whose  hands  have  been 
altogether  untrained  up  to  the  fifteenth  year  are  practically 
incapable  of  high  manual  efficiency  ever  afterwards. . . . 

"  The  small  muscles  of  the  eye,  ear,  larynx,  tongue,  hand 
have  much  higher  and  more  extensive  intellectual  relations 
than  the  large  muscles  of  the  trunk  and  limbs.  If  you 
Avould  attain  to  the  full  intellectual  statvu-e  of  which  you 
are  capable,  do  not,  I  would  say,  neglect  the  physical 
education  of  the  hand."^ 

These  somewhat  extended  quotations  from  one  of  the 
greatest  living  authorities  on  the  subject  show  that  the 
connection  we  have  urged  between  appropriate  physical 
activity  and  increase  of  knowledge  and  intelligence  is  one 
made  necessaiy  by  the  nature  of  our  physical  organisation. 

We  see,  then,  that  training  in  manual  skill  is  an  essential 
factor  in  bringing  the  young  into  true  intel- 
Social  lectual  relations  with  both  his  physical  and 

Develop^^  °  ^^  social  sui'roundings.  But  equally  impor- 
Skill.  tant  is  it  in  developing  true  moral  relations 

towards  Ufe.  When  the  work  of  a  school  is 
altogether  bookish  it  tends  to  set  before  the  pupils  a  false 
idea  of  the  relative  values  of  manual  toil  and  other  occupa- 
tions. The  idea  that  the  aim  of  life  is  to  be  idle  and  that 
there  is  something  degrading  in  working  with  the  hands, 
that  the  clerk  or  shopkeeper  is  superior  to  the  carpenter  or 
blacksmith,  that  a  black  coat  and  silk  hat  are  symbols  of  a 

^   Presidential  Address  at  the  Salt  Schools,  Shipley,  pp.  -24-33. 
PR.  TO.  32 


498  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

nobler  and  higher  type  of  life  than  homy  hands  and  gar- 
ments soiled  by  toil,  is  one  of  the  most  mischievous  that 
can  take  root  in  the  mind  of  any  individual.  To  lead  to 
an  appreciation  of  all  honest  work,  to  give  the  power  of 
distinguishing  good  work  from  bad,  to  inspire  respect  for 
all  worthy  effort,  to  make  clear  that  to  produce  some- 
thing worth  producing  is  man's  noblest  function  in  life, 
and  that  in  the  lowest  as  in  the  highest  production  it  is 
the  truth  with  which  the  work  is  done  which  ennobles  the 
worker — these  are  lessons  every  school  may  well  be  proud  to 
teach.  In  no  way  can  such  lessons  be  taught  more  vividly 
and  more  convincingly  than  in  those  manual  crafts  in  which 
the  very  nature  of  the  work  done  makes  clear  the  deficien- 
cies or  the  excellences  of  the  workmanship. 

8.  Such  considerations  as  those  we  have  put  forward 
establish  beyond  the  possibility  of  cavil  the 
Choice  of  Means  importance  of  training  manual  dexterity  in 
S]jjll  the  production  of  form.     It  remains  to  con- 

sider what  principles  should  guide  the  choice 
of  occupations  used  by  the  school  for  that  piurpose. 

It  is  evident  that  an  immense  number  of  ways  of  employ- 
ing the  hands  are  possible.     But  mere  employment  of  the 
hand  is  not  what  is  wanted.     Only  those  processes  which 
lead  on  to  fuller  and  fuller  appreciation  of 
innereni)  form  and  the  concurrent  qualities  of  material 

Development,  and  colour,  and  of  the  possibilities  of  applica- 
bility to  human  purposes,  are  of  educational 
value.  Hence,  all  exercises  which  simply  train  one  narrow 
kind  of  manual  dexterity,  and  which  have  no  inherent 
principle  of  development  into  wider  and  more  complex 
activities,  should  be  rejected. 

Several  of  the  favourite  devices  of  the  schools — such  as 
paper-mosaics — stand  condemned  by  this  principle.  The 
dexterity  this  exercise  gives  can  be  as  effectively  attained 


THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM.  499 

in  other  processes  which  are  capable  of  development  into 
higher  forms,  and  which  teach  infinitely  more  of  the  form 
and  natui'e  of  real  things.  Moreover,  the  crudity  of  colour 
in  the  only  papers  available  renders  paper-mosaic  an  actual 
training  in  bad  taste.  Infinitely  better  is  it  to  fix  the 
attention  on  the  colours  of  flower  and  bird,  of  fish  and 
butterfly  ;  to  train  the  eye  to  note  the  exquisite  harmonies 
of  shade  in  rock  and  lichen,  of  green  leaf  and  blue  sky,  and 
to  try  to  reproduce  some  of  the  simplest  in  the  medium  of 
water-colour,  which,  though  it  cannot  rival  the  tints  of 
nature,  yet  escapes  the  horrors  of  the  coloured  crudities 
which  are  produced  in  such  large  numbers  in  many 
schools. 

Other  favourite  manual  occupations  of  the  kindergai'ten 

and  the  lower  school  must  be  condemned 
to  Motor^'^  because  of  their  too  great  minuteness.  Till 
Development,     the  age  of  six  or  seven  the  co-ordination  of 

the  smaller  muscles  of  eye  and  hand  is  very 
imperfect,  and  the  exercises  should  be  such  as  require 
wide  sweeping  arm  movements  and  broad  hand  move- 
ments. From  seven  to  about  fourteen  the  power  of 
accui-acy  in  detailed  movements  increases  rapidly ;  after  the 
latter  age  there  is  some  retardation  of  this  increase  rela- 
tively to  that  of  the  larger  muscles  of  trunk,  legs,  and  arms. 
Many  occupations  are  introduced  into  schools  for  the 

sake  of  variety.  When  this  need  is  felt  it  is 
Value  of  a  clear  proof  that  the   right  principles   of 

DfRWIUST  8.11(1  *J  X  X 

Modelling.  choice  have  been  departed  from.  No  form 
of  activity  is  worthy  of  special  cultivation  in 
school  unless  it  is  capable  of  development  into  higher  and 
higher  forms,  a  development,  indeed,  the  full  extent  of 
which  the  school  will  never  measure.  Such  exercises  are 
drawing  and  modelling  in  clay  or  in  some  similar  plastic 
material.     The  one  is  the  germ  of  all  great  painting,  the 


500  THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM. 

other  of  all  great  sculptui-e.  Fear  need,  therefore,  never  be 
felt  that  the  pupils  of  a  primary  school  will  exhaust  their 
possibilities.  Moreover,  in  their  more  advanced  forms  they 
are  activities  which  are  felt  to  be  worthy  of  the  attention  of 
an  adult,  and  may  thus  be  carried  on  in  the  leisure  hours  of 
later  life  by  those  who  have  a  special  artistic  taste  or  apti- 
tude. But  who  can  imagine  a  sane  man  or  woman  employ- 
ing a  wet  holiday  in  the  production  of  paper-mosaics,  and 
the  other  forms  of  perverted  ingenuity  of  which  that  is  the 
type  ? 

Further,  drawing  and  modelling  when  properly  pursued 
fulfil  the  condition  of  uniting  the  physical  activity  with  the 
mental  activity  involved  in  fidler  and  more  exact  know- 
ledge of  real  things.  Before  one  can  reproduce  from 
memory,  either  in  clay  or  in  pencil,  the  form  of  a  flower,  or 
fruit,  or  bu-d,  or  beast,  or  fish,  or  rock,  or  tree,  one  must 
have  observed  the  object  itself  much  more  closely  than  one 
would  otherwise  have  done,  and  that  not  merely  by  looking 
at  it,  but  by  bringing  to  bear  on  it  every  possible  sense 
organ. 

Nor  is  the  range  of  drawing  and  modelling  confined  to 
natural  objects.  Man's  productions  are,  as  has  been  said, 
changes  in  the  forms  of  natui-al  things,  and  the  changed 
forms  can  be  studied  and  reproduced  as  easily  as  the  original. 
Thus  drawing  and  modelling  are  powerful  aids  to  the 
apprehension  of  form,  colour,  and  material  wherever  they 
are  found.  In  other  words,  when  properly  employed  they 
come  to  the  aid  of  much  of  the  school  instruction  in  every 
subject,  and  their  correlation  with  other  subjects  is  con- 
tinuous and  infinitely  varied  in  its  mode.  Whenever  the 
teaching  deals  with  a  visible  object  it  is  possible  to  repre- 
sent the  form  of  that  object  by  drawing  or  modelling,  and 
whenever  the  object  is  important  in  the  subject  in  which  it 
occurs  it  is  advisable  to  do  so. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  501 

In  drawing  and  modelling,  apprehension  of  form  and 
appreciation  of  beauty  are  the  cliief  ends 
^rvmg  in  aimed  at,  and  the  easily  manipulated  and 
yielding  natm-e  of  the  material  offers  little 
obstacle  to  formative  effort.  The  case  is  different  when 
wood  is  the  medium  of  expression.  Wood  is  indocile,  and 
by  working  in  it  the  pupil  learns  the  desirable  lesson  that 
to  carry  out  one's  purposes  one  must  adapt  one's  efforts  to 
the  nature  of  the  means  one  has  to  employ.  The  cai-ving 
in  relief  in  wood  of  the  simpler  artistic  forms  drawn  and 
modelled  is,  therefore,  undoubtedly  a  valuable  addition  to 
the  range  of  activities,  and  contributes  materially  to  the 
acquirement  of  that  perfect  and  automatic  control  of  hand 
movements  which  is  essential  to  the  production  of  the  best 
work.  It  is  to  be  feared,  however,  that  in  comparatively  few 
schools  can  carving  be  introduced  at  pi'esent  owing  to  the 
dearth  of  qualified  teachers.  Its  union  with  modelHng  and 
drawing  from  about  the  foiu-th  school  year  is  rather 
an  ideal  to  be  looked  forward  to  than  a  present  possi- 
bihty. 

Hitherto  we  have  confined  our  attention  to  the  study  of 
natural  and  artistic  forms.  In  many  of  man's 
Handicraft  constructions,  however,  beauty  is  made  sub- 
ordinate to  utihty.  Drawing  and  modelling, 
therefore — and  carving  when  it  is  included — need  to  be 
supplemented  by  a  training  in  useful  constructions  with 
tools.  Such  handicraft  should  not  be  addi-essed  to  the 
acquirement  of  any  special  trade,  but  should  be  organised 
so  as  to  give  broad,  but  acciu-ate,  ideas  of  the  general  lines 
on  which  such  constructions  should  be  made,  and  of  the 
uses  and  possibilities  of  the  various  common  tools.  Like 
drawing,  modelling,  and  carving,  such  work  in  wood  or 
metal  is  capable  of  indefinite  extension.  From  the  first 
rude  attempts  of  a  savage  to  construct  a  wooden  seat  to 


502  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

the  beautiful  productions  of  Chippendale  and  Adam  is  a 
far  cry,  and  fear  need  not  be  felt  that  the  primary  school 
will  exhaust  the  possibilities. 

Such  work  should,  then,  be  introduced  towards  the  end 
of  the  school  life,  and  should  receive  much  attention  during 
the  years  of  early  adolescence,  characterised  as  they  are  by 
the  rapid  growth  and  development  of  the  larger  muscles. 
Of  course,  handicraft  is  not  so  intimately  related  to  the 
other  subjects  of  the  school  course  as  are  drawing  and 
modelling,  but  it  finds  its  appropriate  place  in  the  life 
activities  of  the  child,  and  so  is  related  in  various 
more  or  less  indirect  ways  to  everything  else  which 
helps  to  constitute  that  life,  whilst  with  some  parts 
of  mathematics  and  nature  study  its  relations  are  very 
intimate. 

9.  The  general  pi'iuciples  on  which  training  in  various 
forms  of  manual  skill  should  be  given  have 
Summary  of  been  indicated  in  the  discussion  just  con- 
General  eluded.  We  may  briefly  summarise  them: 
Method.  (.^)  T^®  teaching  should  be  such  as  to  lead 
to  clear  and  definite  apprehension  of  form, 
and  to  power  to  express  ideas  of  form  in  various  materials. 
In  order  to  secure  this  the  mechanical  and  executive 
processes  should  be  made  automatic. 

(6)  Drawing,  modelling — and  carving  when  it  is  intro- 
duced— should  be  correlative  to  each  other,  the  same  forms 
being  produced  in  each  medium. 

(c)  The  exercises  should  be  related  to  the  life  experiences 
of  the  pupils,  including  the  other  subjects  of  school  in- 
struction. 

(d)  Educative  handicraft  should  be  general  in  its 
nature,  and  should  be  made  a  mode  of  studying  part 
of  the  world  of  things  as  well  as  of  gaining  constructive 
skill. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  503 

10.  The   fullest   advantage  can  only  be   derived  from 

handwork  when  it  is  taught  by  teachers  who 
JfThfSacher.  ^^^  specially  qualified  by  skill  and  aptitude. 

Everybody  can  attain  to  some  degree  of 
manual  skill,  but  not  everybody  has  that  natural  artistic 
taste  and  culture  and  that  special  aptitude  of  hand  which 
should  be  found  in  the  teacher.  Moreover,  all  branches 
of  the  teaching  should  be  under  the  same  direction,  and, 
as  far  as  possible,  in  the  same  hands.  Such  a  broad 
treatment  as  is  requii-ed  cannot  be  expected  when  the 
teaching  of  handicraft  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  mere 
craftsman.  Everything,  then,  points  to  the  need  in  this 
branch  of  studies  of  following  the  example  of  France,  and 
entrusting  the  art  work  of  each  school  to  a  specially  quali- 
fied member  of  the  staff.  So  long  as  eveiy  class  teacher 
is  expected,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  teach  di-awing  and 
some  form  of  manual  occupation,  the  work  will  fail  to 
yield  results  commensurate  with  the  time,  effort,  and 
money  lavished  upon  it.  And  while  this  is  the  case  it  is 
to  be  feared  that  the  general  level  of  artistic  taste  in 
England  will  remain  complacently  tolerant  of  the  ugly 
and  appreciative  of  the  meretricious. 

11.  Having  investigated  the  nature  of  form  and  the  part 

it  plays  in  human  life,  and  deduced  the 
General  Nature        "    •',        •     •   i  i  •  i      i,      i  j         ■  i     - 1 

of  Course  in      general   principles   which  should   guide  the 

Modelling  and  teaching  of  form  in  schools,  we  will  now 
Drawing.  briefly  and  broadly  apply  those  principles  to 

the  subjects  our  analysis  has  led  us  to  believe  the  most 
profitable.  No  attempt  to  lay  down  a  syllabus  will  be 
made.  In  art  work,  more  than  in  all  other  forms  of 
training,  rigidity  is  to  be  deprecated.  Each  competent 
teacher  will  draw  out  his  own  general  course,  and  will 
provide  within  it  abundant  means  for  variation  by  indi- 
vidual pupils  according  to  theii*  powers  and  the  quickness 


504  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

or  slowness  witli  which  those  powers  develop.  Such  general 
courses,  and  such  possibihties  of  variation,  will  be  effective 
in  proportion  to  the  skill  with  which  the  various  elements 
of  a  complete  training  are  related  to  each  other.  It 
is  the  general  mode  of  such  relations  we  have  now  to 
consider. 

In  the  apprehension  of  the  form  of   solid  objects  we 

have  seen  that  touch  and  movement  combine 
0/ S^tmiv  ^        ^th  sight,  and  that  the  impressions  received 

from  the  latter  must  be  interpreted  by  means 
of  knowledge  derived  from  the  former.  It  follows  that 
drawing  is  a  more  abstract  and  artificial  way  of  represent- 
ing solid  fomis  than  is  modelling,  and  consequently  that 
modelling  should  precede  drawing  in  the  earher  stages  of 
teaching,  and  that,  throughout,  the  two  shotdd  illustrate 
and  help  each  other. 

Moreover,  in  the  apprehension  of  surface  coloured  mass 
comes  first :  the  exact  shape  of  the  outline  is  seized  only 
when  attention  is  specially  drawn  to  it.  It  follows  that 
mass  drawing  in  colour  should  precede  outline  drawing. 
Further,  as  colour  is  so  important  an  element  of  beauty,  it 
is  necessary  that  the  representation  of  coloured  masses 
should  accompany  modelUng  and  outline  drawing  through- 
out the  course. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  objects  of  the  teaching  of  form  we 

see  that  the  contents  of  the  course  will 
General  j^g  drawn  both  from  natui'e  and  from  art, 

Course.  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^6  relations  of  these  to  each  other, 

especially  the  ways  in  which  the  freer  forms 
of  nature  are  conventionalised  so  as  to  be  adapted  to  the 
more  symmetrical  f oi-ms  of  art,  are  gradually  made  explicit. 
The  artistic  use  of  natural  as  well  as  of  geometrical  and 
conventionalised  forms  will  be  brought  out  by  an  examina- 
tion   of    appropriate    examples   which    makes    clear    the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  505 

principles  of  tlieir  construction,  and  the  pupils  will  be  led 
to  apply  those  principles  to  constrvictions  of  their  own, 
adapted  to  attain  certain  definite  ends. 

A  well  arranged  course  will  harmonise  with  the  order  of 
the  develojiinent  of  muscular  co-ordination.  Thus,  the 
smaller  pupils  will  mainly  be  engaged  in  free-arm  drawing 
and  the  modelling  of  general  mass.  The  representation 
of  finer  detail  will  only  be  requii-ed  gradually  as  the 
co-ordination  of  the  smaller  muscles  becomes  more  perfect. 
It  will  be  recognised,  moreover,  that  such  perfection  is 
attainable  only  on  the  basis  of  considerable  automatism  in 
the  co-ordinations  of  the  larger  muscles,  for  without  this 
there  is  no  freedom  of  adaptation,  and  consequently  no 
artistic  quality.  Tlie  course  will,  then,  include  continual 
drill  in  certain  chosen  basic  forms  which  demand  for  their 
execution  sweeping  movements  of  arm  or  hand. 

A  course  which  thus  harmonises  with  the  physiological 
development  of  the  child's  life  will  also  be  in  harmony 
with  its  mental  development,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  percep- 
tion and  muscular  co-ordination  grow  together.  The  mind 
apprehends  wholes  before  details,  and  the  more  character- 
istic details  are  seized  long  before  those  less  salient. 
The  coui'se  of  teaching  should  recognise  this.  In  natural 
forms  the  gradation  will  be  much  less  in  the  objects  studied 
than  in  the  thoroughness  with  which  their  individual 
divergencies  from  what  may  be  called  the  typical  form — 
say  of  a  fish  or  of  a  bird — are  seized  and  reproduced.  The 
same  natural  objects  may  fonn  appropriate  exercises  for 
the  youngest  and  for  the  oldest  pupils,  but  the  amount 
seen  and  represented  should  be  very  different  in  the  two 
cases.  In  art  forms  the  basic  lines  of  construction  should 
be  studied  first,  and  the  details  gradually  apprehended 
as  growing  out  of  such  lines,  and  giving  meaning  to 
them. 


506  THE    TEACniNO    OF    FORM. 

Throughout  an  effective  course  it  will  be  borne  in  mind 
tbat  neither  drawing  nor  modelling  is  mere 
o/TeSr*''°^^°Py^^S-  The  object  of  each  is  to  give  a 
real  and  living  knowledge  of  form,  and  such 
knowledge  is  attained  only  when  the  hand  and  eye  work- 
ing together  can  express  the  idea  conceived  in  the  mind. 
The  general  order  of  acquiring  skill  must  be  observed — 
imitation  of  example,  reproduction  by  memory,  origination 
based  on  such  imitation  and  memory.  The  reproduction 
of  forms  from  memory  is  involved  in  what  has  been  said 
on  the  attainment  of  automatic  skill.  Without  this  all 
true  and  free  origination  is  impossible.  For  in  origination 
in  art  as  in  wi-iting  the  attention  must  be  concentrated  on 
the  ideas  to  be  conveyed,  and  not  distracted  to  the 
mechanical  production  of  the  forms  by  which  the  expres- 
sion of  those  ideas  is  effected. 

Further,  the  course  will  secure  that  in  idea  as  well  as  in 
skill  the  same  order  is  followed.  Much  waste  of  time  now 
goes  on  in  schools  in  what  is  ambitiously  called  '  design,' 
though  it  lacks  the  most  essential  feature  of  design — the 
adaptation  to  purpose.  Such  fancy  drawing  has  no  educa- 
tional value,  for  it  involves  no  element  of  training.  It  is 
from  study  and  analysis  of  examples  in  relation  to  their 
purpose,  from  clear  apprehension  of  the  adaptation  of 
means  to  end  made  intellectually  automatic  by  much 
practice,  that  any  power  of  real  artistic  origination  springs. 
And  the  wise  teacher  will  remember  that  he  may  have 
pupils  who  will  be  able  to  appreciate  beauty  of  design,  to 
discriminate  degrees  of  worth  in  designs,  and  to  reproduce 
beautifvil  designs  from  memory,  who  have  little  or  no  power 
of  originating  graceful  forms  and  combinations.  As  has 
been  said,  all  may  learn  to  appreciate  artistic  beauty,  but 
few  have  it  in  them  to  become  artists.  Too  few  teachers 
recognise  that  to  encourage  childi-en  to  originate  the  ugly 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  507 

is  to  give  them  a  very  bad  training.  '  Originality '  is 
now-a-days  so  much  in  fashion  that  it  is  frequently  for- 
gotten that  the  evil  and  unworthy  may  be  originated  as 
easily  as  the  good  and  worthy.  It  is  the  quality  of  the 
product,  not  its  newness  in  human  experience,  which  is  the 
real  test  of  its  value  in  life,  and  consequently  in  education. 
12.  A  coiu-se  laid  down  on  these  lines  will  bear  little 
resemblance  to  the  kind  of  '  art  work '  fre- 

^y^^^^  -^       quently  found  in  English  schools.     Paper- 
English  Pri-        ^        ■      ,f       1       J  ,  •     •-   . .        £  -1 
maxy  Schools,    mosaics,    iree-nana    uuitation  or  meaningless 

forms  printed  on  paper,  some  drawing  of 
geometrical  models  are  the  traditional  constituents  of  such 
a  course.  To  these  is  now  frequently  added  more  or  less 
of  the  so-called  '  designing '  to  which  we  have  referred 
When  we  further  remember  that  every  teacher  in  a  primary 
school  is  assumed  to  be  capable  of  conducting  such  a  course, 
whether  he  has  or  has  not  either  artistic  taste  or  manipula- 
tive skill,  surprise  cannot  be  felt  that  the  results  have  been 
of  little  worth  artistically  or  educationally. 

In  France  these  things  are  managed  more  wisely.  There, 
drawing  is  only  taught  by  teachers  specially  trained  and 
qualified  for  the  work,  and  '  free-hand  copies '  are  unknown. 
The  childi'en  draw  from  real  things  and  so  learn  real  form. 
Consequently  they  are  interested  throughout,  and  the  results 
are  seen  not  only  in  the  actual  excellence  of  the  school 
work,  but  in  the  artistic  superiority  of  the  French  workman 
over  his  EugHsh  brother. 

The  traditional  English  course  has  aimed  with  single  eye 
at  manipulative  dexterity,  but  has  ignored  the  essential  con- 
ditions of  securing  even  that  in  a  fruitful  fonn.  What 
knowledge  of  the  actual  world,  what  power  of  using  it  for 
one's  own  purposes,  could  possibly  result  from  constant 
practice  in  the  reproduction  of  printed  forms  which  resemble 
nothing  so  much  as  the  fantastic  twistLugs  of  pieces  of  ^dre 


508  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

apparently  suffering  from  some  liorrible  niglitmare  ?  Even 
when  actual  forms — as  a  vase  or  jug — were  represented  they 
were  usually  elevations,  and  thus  actually  impressed  on 
the  pupil's  mind  a  form  which  he  could  never  see,  and 
so  taught  him — so  far  as  it  taught  him  anything — to  see 
wrongly.  Wliat  interest  could  possibly  be  developed  by 
such  teaching  as  this  ?  How  could  it  bear  on  life  or  on 
the  needs  of  life  ? 

The  first  reform  in  the  teaching  of  drawing  required  in 
England  is  the  absolute  banishment  of  the  free-hand  copy, 
and  no  reason  can  be  given  for  its  retention  except  the  in- 
competence of  many  teachers  of  di'awing.  In  schools  with 
a  plurality  of  teachers  this  difficulty  can  easily  be  obviated 
by  seciu'ing  that  at  least  one  member  of  the  staff  is  com- 
petent to  carry  on  a  course  of  art  work,  and  then  placing 
the  whole  of  that  work  in  his  hands.  And  it  must  be 
emphasised  that  until  this  is  done  our  art  teaching  in 
England  will  be  genei-ally  iniproductive  and  ineffective.  It 
is  no  disgrace  to  a  teacher  to  be  unable  to  teach  drawing 
and  modelling :  he  may  do  excellent  work  in  other  subjects. 
But  for  a  teacher  who  cannot  draw  or  model  to  pretend  to 
teach  those  arts  is  a  wrong  to  the  children,  though  a  wrong 
which  lies  less  at  the  door  of  the  individual  under  whom 
the  childj-en  suffer  than  at  the  door  of  those — education 
authorities  or  head  teachers — who  insist  on  his  doing  work 
for  which  he  is  unsuited. 

When  tliis  is  recognised  another  desuuble  result  will  be 
easily  secui-ed,  at  any  rate  in  the  larger  schools.  With  the 
special  teacher  will  come  the  special  rooms.  Instead  of  the 
monotony  of  one  teacher  and  one  room  there  will  be  the 
variety  of  some  change  both  of  teacher  and  of  room.  There 
will  be  the  drawing-room,  fitted  with  di'awing  surface  all 
round  the  walls  ^  on  which  the  children  can  do  free-arm 
^  Pamted  Parian  cement  makes  an  excellent  surface. 


THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM.  509 

drawings,  with  desks  and  seats  specially  adapted  for 
drawing,  and  with  casts  and  other  objects  from  which 
drawings  are  to  be  made.  And  there  will  be  the  modelling- 
room  with  its  tables  and  modelling  boards,  its  modelling 
tools,  and  its  objects  for  imitation.  In  each  room  will  be 
examples  of  more  advanced  work  than  even  the  oldest 
pupils  are  capable  of,  yet  not  out  of  the  range  of  their 
understanding  and  appreciation,  which  serve  to  whet  their 
enthusiasm  and  to  give  them  an  ideal  to  strive  towards. 
Lest  such  proposals  should  seem  Utopian  dreams  it  may  be 
well  to  observe  that  in  America  they  are  dreams  which  are 
being  more  and  more  generally  realised. 

13.  The  combined  com-se,  then,  will  begin  with  modelling 

some  simple  object,  such  as  a  ball.    Each  child 

in  ^^Modeimfff     must  have  a  ball  and  be  encoui-aged  to  feel  it 

and  Drawing—  with  attention,  so  as  to  get  the  feel  of  it  into 

f^^^  j^f,?^  his  memory.  Then  under  the  teacher's  direc- 
in  Juodelling.      .  •' 

tion  he  proceeds  to  mould  the  clay  into  a 

similar  form  and  a  similar  size.  From  the  ball  to  the 
oi'ange  is  an  easy  step,  and  so  on  to  plum,  apple,  pear,  and 
other  fruit  forms.  Each  form  should  be  practised  suffi- 
ciently often  to  attain  facility  and  the  power  of  re- 
production from  memory.  But  though  practising  the 
same  general  form,  as  many  varied  embodiments  of 
it  as  possible  should  be  sought,  lest  monotony  deaden 
interest. 

At  first  the  forms  produced  will  be  typical  rather  than 
representative  of  individual  pecidiarities,  and  they  will  be 
crude  and  imperfect,  especially  when  executed  from 
memory.  The  teacher,  however,  should  at  first  aim  at 
facility  rather  than  accuracy,  recognising  that  the  latter  is 
impossible  without  the  former. 

Very  soon  after  modelling  is  begun,  drawing  in  mass 
should   be   introduced.      This   is   preferably  done  on  the 


510  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

wall  sui'face,  but  if  that  is  not  available — as  is  un- 
happily the  case  in  most  English  schools- 
Drawing  in  brown  papei-  may  be  used.  Coloured  chalks 
are  preferable  at  this  early  stage  to  the  brush 
as  having  a  more  easily  managed  point.  The  right  colours 
should  be  used — yellow  for  oranges,  green  for  leaves,  red 
for  carrots.  Whether  the  children  begin  in  the  middle 
and  work  outwards,  or  first  sketch  lightly  an  outline  which 
may  be  modified  as  the  mass  is  filled  in,  seems  to  be  a 
matter  of  indifference.  Only  the  latter  plan  yields  satis- 
factory results  with  delicate  or  complex  forms.  Many 
children  seem  to  see  mass  as  filled  outline  ;  that  is,  the 
limits  stand  out  vividly  in  their  perception.  At  first 
forms  more  or  less  typical  will  be  produced,  and  in  the 
earlier  lessons  it  is  better  to  have  only  one  object,  fixed  up 
in  sight  of  the  whole  class.  The  teacher  draws  an  object 
on  the  board  and  the  pupils  observe  his  method.  But  the 
object  thus  di-awn  by  the  teacher  should  not  be  exactly 
that  which  the  children  are  about  to  draw.  It  is  process, 
not  result,  which  is  to  be  imitated. 

In  the  representation  of  such  forms  the  characteristic 
features  should  be  emphasised  from  the  first. 

^VW^^^^^on  Qiiiidren  are  very  quick  to  seize  on  such 
of  Differences.  .     .  . 

features,  and  it  is  their  presence  or  absence 

which  makes  a  representation  life-like  or  the  reverse.  Such 
characteristic  features  are  common  to  all  members  of  a 
class  of  objects,  and  are,  indeed,  the  marks  by  which  we 
recognise  the  class  to  which  any  particular  object  belongs. 
The  recognition  of  the  peculiarities  which  separate  indi- 
vidual from  individual  Avithin  a  class  is  a  gradual  develop- 
ment of  the  same  process  by  which  the  differentiating 
features  of  classes  are  noticed. 

Both   perception  and  representation  must   proceed  on 
these  lines.     Whether,  in  modelhng  or  in  drawing,  the 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  511 

characteristic  features  come  first,  the  individual  variationb 
follow  httle  by  little.  At  first  these,  too,  are  better 
analysed  out  by  the  whole  class  from  a  common  example, 
but  as  soon  as  possible  each  child  should  try  to  notice 
and  to  represent  the  peculiarities  of  a  different  object, 
the  teacher  using  one  specimen  merely  to  lead  the  class 
as  a  whole  to  notice  a  certain  kind  of  peculiarity,  but  im- 
pressing upon  the  children  the  necessity  of  noticing  exactly 
how  that  peculiarity  is  shown  in  their  own  examples. 
Always  must  the  teacher  be  on  his  guard  against  telling 
his  pupils  what  to  represent;  the  whole  value  of  the 
exercise  is  lost  if  representation  is  not  the  expression  of 
perception. 

14,  The  drawing  in  mass  in  coloured  chalks  will  natur- 
ally develop  about  the  third  year  into  brush 

Brush  Drawing  dj-awing  in   water-colour.      Here  an  infinite 

and  Outline  .  5^         .,.,... 

Drawing.  vista  of  possibilities  is  opened  to  view ;  nature 

cannot  be  exhausted  in  the  primary  school. 
The  intensive  obsei'vation  of  colour  which  brush  drawing 
entails  if  it  is  to  be  of  worth  is  one  of  the  surest  means  of 
training  artistic  taste.  Flower  and  shell  are  specially  rich 
in  colour  tints,  but  almost  everything  in  nature  can  be 
turned  to  account.  Of  course  the  objects  studied  in  the 
nature  course  will  be  represented  in  colour  in  the  di-awing 
covirse. 

Side  by  side  with  the  mass  drawing  in  water-colour  will 
go  outline  di-awing  with  the  pencil.  Each  helps  and  supple- 
ments the  other ;  for  while  the  former  gives  fulness  and 
life  to  the  latter,  the  latter  by  its  insistence  on  details  gives 
increased  accuracy  to  the  former.  The  full  effect  is  only 
obtained  when  similar  objects  are  drawn  in  both  ways,  but 
the  tinting  of  pencil  outlines  has  no  value  as  a  means  of 
teaching  form :  it  is  a  purely  mechanical  exercise  for  which 
the  school  has  no  time. 


512  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

15.  Of  the  arrangement  of  the  course  in  nature  drawing 

it  is  unnecessary  to  say  much.     As  has  al- 

Course  in  ready  been  said,  it  is  not  so  much  a  difference 

r43<tj  111*6 

Drawing.  i^  the  objects  represented  as  a  difference  in 

the  perfection  with  which  they  are  repre- 
sented which  marks  progress.  We  will  only  remark  that 
objects  should  be  sought  from  aU  the  departments  of 
nature,  especially  natural  life — fish  and  bird  and  beast, 
as  well  as  plants  and  fi-uits,  being  laid  under  contribu- 
tion. 

In  every  case  observation  and  practice  should  work  hand 
in  hand  till  the  form  can  be  produced  with  facility  from 
memory,  or  even  in  an  imagined  position  in  which  it  has 
never  been  actually  observed  with  close  attention.  It  is, 
thus,  quite  needless  to  di*aw  or  model  from  stuffed  exam- 
ples of  animals  on  the  ground  that  the  living  creatures  do 
not  remain  still.  That  practice  is  a  remnant  of  the  heresy 
that  drawing  or  modelling  is  merely  copying  what  is  before 
the  eye.  The  chicken  in  its  constant  movements  remains 
the  same  chicken,  and  its  very  movements,  by  presenting 
to  the  eye  its  form  in  different  aspects,  enable  the  atten- 
tive observer  to  grasp  the  essentials  of  that  form  more 
thoroughly,  and  this  is  the  essential  preliminary  to  a  life- 
like representation  of  it.  No  doubt  at  first  such  repre- 
sentations vnll  be  crude,  even  grotesque.  That  is  the 
characteristic  of  aU.  early  attempts  at  art  both  in  the  race 
and  in  the  individual,  but  it  is  the  indispensable  root 
without  which  the  flower  of  artistic  representation  can 
never  be  secui'ed. 

When  a  natural  object  is  either  modelled  or  di-awn  it 
should  be  represented  in  a  natural  position.  Thus,  a  pear 
should  be  lying  on  its  side  or  hanging  from  a  branch,  not 
apparently  upheld  by  a  wire  passed  through  its  centre.  This 
leads  us  to  see  that  in  modelling  the  object  should  not  be 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  513 

held  and  formed  in  tlie  hands  after  the  first  few  examples,  in 
which  it  is  looked  at  in  detachment  from  its  surroundings 
and  in  which  only  a  rough  approximation  to  foiTn  is  aimed 
at.  The  model  should  be  worked  on  a  slab  of  clay  which 
represents  the  board  on  which  the  actual  object  rests,  and 
correctness  in  position  as  well  as  in  shape  should  be  sought. 
A  good  test  of  the  degree  to  which  this  is  secured  is  the 
more  or  less  perfect  coincidence  of  the  direction  and  size 
of  the  shadows  cast  by  object  and  modelled  copy  respec- 
tively. Such  shadows  should  be  studied  in  all  di*awing  of 
objects  as  well  as  in  all  modelling  of  them.  In  this  as  in 
other  respects  the  two  modes  of  representation  should  go 
hand  in  hand. 

16.  In  the  i-epresentation  of  solid  objects  by  a  flat  draw- 
ing there  is  involved  an  application  of  the 
Principles  of  principles  of  perspective.  These  should  not, 
of  course,  be  taught  as  abstract  rules,  but 
should  be  gathered  by  the  pupils  themselves  from  their  own 
guided  observations.  The  ordinary  objects  of  natui-e  and 
vise  do  not  bring  out  these  principles  so  clearly  and  unam- 
biguously as  do  certain  prepared  examples.  It  is,  there- 
fore, advisable  to  have  lessons  with  such  models,  though 
at  no  tune  shoiild  they  be  made  the  main  content  of  the 
course.  They  should  rather  be  occasional  incidents  brought 
in  by  the  teacher  when  the  pupils  have  met  with  an  execu- 
tive diflB.culty  which  they  will  help  to  clear  away. 

In  French  schools  children  in  the  third  school  year  are 
taught  these  principles  with  great  success,  and  what  is  done 
in  France  may  be  done  in  England.  A  simple  apparatus  is 
found  effective.  "  A  frame  of  wire  gauze  or  glass  is  used,  on 
which  to  di'aw  the  models  and  show  the  perspective.  Across 
this  frame  a  small  iron  rod  is  placed  on  hooks  to  show  the 
eye-level.  A  small  circular  piece  of  zinc,  which  is  pierced 
with  a  hole,  and  slides  on  a  vertical  rod,  is  also  used.    This 

^U.  TQ.  33 


514  THE    TEACHING    OF    FOfiM. 

fixes  the  point  of  sight.  Any  simple  object  is  placed 
behind  the  wire  gauze.  The  point  of  sight  is  placed  on 
the  table  at  the  other  side  of  the  gauze.  The  rod,  which 
represents  the  eye-level,  is  placed  exactly  at  the  same  height 
as  the  point  of  sight,  and  each  pupil  who  does  not  under- 
stand perspective  is  made  to  place  his  eye  behind  the  point 
of  sight  so  that  he  sees  through  the  hole  in  the  zinc.  He 
then  di'aws  on  the  gauze  or  glass  the  object  before  his 
eyes.  Then  he  draws  the  same  object  from  another  point 
of  view  and  compares  this  di-awing  with  the  one  he  made 
first. 

"  The  first  model  used  is  a  square  made  of  wire  and 
divided  into  four  equal  parts  by  horizontal  wires.  It  is 
drawn  first  from  the  front,  then  turned  away.  In  both 
cases  the  eye-level  is  drawn  across  the  paper,  and  when 
the  square  is  di-awn  turned  away  the  vanishing  lines  are 
carried  out  to  their  vanisliing  point  on  the  line  of  the  eye- 
level. 

"The  second  model  is  the  same  square  placed  so  that 
the  lines  are  vertical."  ^ 

Then  wire  skeleton  models  of  the  simpler  solid  geo- 
metrical figures  are  studied.  Thus  the  relations  of  the 
lines  on  which  attention  is  to  be  concentrated  are  seen  as 
far  as  possible  standing  by  themselves,  and  the  back  lines 
are  visible  as  well  as  those  in  front.  The  transition  to 
solid  models  is  easy.  But  it  should  never  be  forgotten 
that  this  grammar  of  di-awing,  and  these  examples  specially 
designed  to  bring  out  that  grammar,  are  merely  auxiliary, 
and  are  uninteresting  and  uninspiring  unless  they  are  seen 
by  the  pupils  to  be  helpful  in  di-awing  real  objects.  The 
transition  to  common  objects  and  casts  of  various  kinds  of 
ornament  should,  therefore,  be  made  as  soon  as  possible. 

'  Moore,  Report  on  Method  of  Teachmg  Drawing  and  Design  in 
the  Schools  of  Paris,  pp.  4-5, 


THK    TEACHING    OF    FOEM.  515 

17.  This  has  led  us  to  the  course  in  the  conventional 
forms  of  art.  The  foundations  of  this  are 
ventTonS  Art"  ^'^^^^^  i^  certain  more  or  less  symmetrical 
forms.  These  should  at  first  be  drawn  free- 
arm  on  the  wall  di-awing-sm-face,  or  on  small  blackboards 
placed  and  held  vertically.  The  course  should  begin  imme- 
diately the  cliiklren  enter  the  senior  school  if  it  has  not 
begun  in  the  infant  school.  The  di'awings  should  be  made 
Avithout  swaying  the  body,  about  the  height  of  the  chin, 
and  of  a  moderate  size,  say  six  inches  across.  Afterwards 
similar  free  drawings  should  be  practised  on  large  pieces 
of  brown  paper  laid  on  the  desk,  though  drawings  on 
vertical  surfaces  should  never  cease  to  be  part  of  the 
coui'se.  In  the  upper  classes  the  pupils  should  be  able  to 
execute  with  facility  and  accuracy  di'awings  of  considerable 
complexity  and  of  any  size  the  drawing  sui-face  will 
admit. 

Throughout,  the  teacher  must  insist  on  free  swinging 
movements,  and  no  rubbing  out  should  be  allowed.  In- 
deed, rubbing  out  should  never  be  permitted  in  any  of  the 
earlier  exercises  in  drawing.  The  children  should  from  the 
beginning  form  the  habit  of  putting  down  lines  intended 
to  remain.  They  will  make  mistakes,  especially  at  first,  but 
skill  will  come  vrith.  practice.  The  swing  of  a  cm-ve  may 
be  practised  in  the  air  just  above  the  paper  or  just  in 
front  of  the  board  till  the  aiTa  and  hand  are  accustomed 
to  it. 

The  diill  in  the  basic  construction  lines  of  conventional 
art  should  be  constant,  but  should  never  last  more  than  ten 
minutes  at  a  time,  and  should  be  made  varied  and  fruitful 
by  various  combinations.  The  circle,  the  straight  line,  the 
ellipse,  the  spiral,  the  scroU,  the  crocket,  and  the  anthemion 
— or  figure  consisting  of  a  central  lobe  with  other  various 
shaped  lobes  synunetrically  arranged  on  each  side  of  it — 


516  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

which  plays  so  large  a  part  in  Grreek  art,  should  be  practised 
till  their  execution  becomes  as  automatic  as  writing. 

Such  figm-es  should  be  drawn  with  both  hands,  separately 
and  together,  till  they  can  be  produced  with 
m  1  ex  en  y.  £^pm^y  ^^^  accuracy.  This  ambidextrous 
practice  is  a  great  help  in  the  broader  kinds  of  drawing, 
and  the  training  of  children  in  it  has  the  advocacy  of  the 
great  painter  Meissonier.  In  modelling  and  wood  work, 
of  coui-se,  the  power  to  use  each  hand  is  essential.  In  the 
finer  kinds  of  di-awing  and  in  brush  work  it  is  better  to 
keep  to  the  right  hand,  for  the  anatomy  of  the  brain 
shows  that  all  the  more  delicate  muscular  movements  have 
their  centre  in  the  left  lobe  of  the  brain,  from  which 
the  motor  nerves  pass  to  the  right  side  of  the  body. 
But  in  the  execution  of  the  larger  movements  it  is 
customary  to  neglect  the  training  of  the  left  hand  far  too 
much. 

These  basic  forms  should  not  remain  abstractions.    They 
should  continiially  be  put  to  use.     Their  use 
Designs.  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ornaments  should  be  examined : 

it  should  be  seen  how  by  combinations  of  one  or  more  with 
various  conventionalised  natural  forms  designs  suitable  for 
certain  purposes  of  ornamentation  are  built  up,  and  having 
analysed  such  examples,  the  pupils  shoidd  be  encouraged 
to  attempt  designs  of  their  own  based  on  the  same  basic 
element  and  f oUowdng  the  same  general  laws  of  combination. 
Such  productions  should  be  criticised  from  the  point  of 
view  of  their  adherence  to,  or  departure  from,  the  accepted 
principles  of  constructive  decorative  art.  The  pupils  should 
never  be  allowed  to  suppose  that  any  fancy  combination  of 
curves  or  elements  wliich  in  some  way  fills  a  given  space  is 
really  a  design,  or  has  necessarily  any  worth.  Of  course, 
in  judging  children's  attempts  a  high  standard  should  not 
be  taken,  but  throughout  it  must  be  made  apparent  that 


THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM.  617 

artistic  decorative  art  is  governed  by  principles  as  definite 
as  are  the  laws  of  harmony  in  music. 

Further,  it  should  be  recognised  that  with  some  children 
time  given  to  original  design  will  be  found  by  experience 
to  be  unprofitably  spent.  Such  pupils  will  be  better 
employed  in  studying  and  reproducing  artistic  designs  of 
others  than  in  degrading  their  taste  by  repeated  perpetra- 
tion of  monstrosities  of  their  own. 

Conciurently  with  this  coui'se  in  the  drawing  of  conven- 
tional art  forms  should  run  a  similar  coui'se 

SfSSfs  ^^  °^^y-  ^°^'  *^^'  mocleUing  tools  will  be 
needed.  The  pupil  makes  a  plain  slab  or 
tile,  and  on  it  sketches  with  the  edge  of  the  tool  the  spiral, 
scroll  or  other  element  which  is  to  be  the  basis  of  the 
finished  pattern.  This  should  be  practised  over  and  over 
again  till  it  is  satisfactory,  the  unsuccessful  attempts  being 
easily  erased  with  the  palette  knife.  On  this  groimd  plan 
the  pattern  is  built  up  by  adding  clay,  and  is  finished  by 
manipulating  it  with  the  modelling  tool. 

Thus,  copies  of  Greek  architectui'al  and  other  ornament 
can  be  both  drawn  and  modelled,  and  the  principles  of 
decorative  art  learnt  and  applied.  Vast  variety  is  possible. 
The  basic  elements  may  be  combined  in  an  endless  number 
of  ways  with  each  other  and  with  suitable  decorative  addi- 
tions. But  this  should  never  be  done  at  random.  The 
reason  and  fitness  of  each  ornamental  detail  should  be 
investigated,  and  in  any  original  compositions  attempted 
by  the  cliildfen  they  should  be  taught  to  imagine  the 
general  lines  of  the  whole  composition  before  they 
make  the  first  stroke,  not  to  go  on  adding  piece  to 
piece  without  an  idea  of  what  the  whole  result  will 
be.  Of  com'se  this  does  not  imply  that  rough  pre- 
luninary  sketches  to  aid  the  imagination  may  not 
profitably  be  made. 


518  tHE   TEACHING   OF   FORM. 

18.  The  po-wer  of  drawing  and  modelling  thus  developed 

should  enable  the  pupils  in  the  upper  classes 

Correlation        to  sketch  rapidly  and  acciu'ately  the  essential 

with  other         features  of  illustrations  put  before  them  in 
Subjects  of  ,  •  1 

Study.  lessons  m  such  subjects  as  history,  geography, 

and  natural  history,  and  their  note-books  in 
those  subjects  should  be  illustrated  by  such  sketches.  The 
characteristics  of  a  mediaeval  castle,  for  example,  are  easily 
sketched ;  so  are  the  forms  of  ships  at  different  ages. 
A  course  of  lessons  on  the  development  of  church  architec- 
ture might  well  be  given  to  the  elder  pupHs.  The  typical 
forms  of  arch  and  doorway  and  window-tracery  are  not  hard 
either  to  distinguish  or  to  draw,  and  the  knowledge 
obtained  and  recorded  in  sketches  gives  added  interest  to 
many  a  walk  either  in  country  or  in  town. 

19.  Of  carving  in  wood  v/e  shall  say  very  few  words, 

because,  as  has  been  already  granted,  it  can 
Carving  in         ^^    present    be    introduced    into    very    few 

schools  owing  to  the  small  number  of 
teachers  competent  to  teach  it.  And  in  this  subject, 
happily,  teachers  who  know  they  are  incompetent  do 
not  attempt  to  do  the  impossible,  as  they  very  frequently 
do  in  drawing  and  not  infrequently  in  modelling.  But 
when  carving  in  wood  can  be  taught  it  is  an  excellent 
adjunct  to  the  other  two  forms  of  art  work.  It  may  be 
begun  in  the  f oui-th  or  fifth  school  year,  and  requires  but  a 
small  outlay  for  apparatus — a  few  chisels  and  gouges,  a 
mallet,  and  one  or  two  clamps  being  all  that  are  needed  for 
each  pupil.  The  most  profitable  kind  of  exercise  is  the 
carving  of  panels  in  relief.  Very  similar  designs  to  those 
already  spoken  of  under  drawing  and  modelling  can  be 
produced,  though  they  would  have  less  fine  detail  than  the 
modelled  tiles  even  as  those  would  have  less  than  the  drawn 
designs.     The  pattern  should  be  di-awn  on  the  wood  with 


THE    TEACHINO    OF    FORM.  519 

chalk,  which  can  easily  be  efPaced,  and  repeated  till  it  is 
satisfactory,  and  should  then  be  marked  over  more  per- 
manently with  a  soft  pencil.  The  wood  not  contained  in 
the  pattern  is  then  cut  away  witli  the  chisel  till  the  pattern 
is  left  in  relief. 

Of  course,  the  application  of  the  art  to  the  carving  of 
boxes,  and  with  more  advanced  pupils  to  the  ornamentation 
of  articles  of  furnituj-e,  such  as  chairs,  stools,  tables,  cup- 
boards, and  desks,  gives  additional  value  and  interest  to 
the  work  in  the  eyes  of  the  pupils. 

20.  A  v;ell  conceived  scheme  of  educative  handicraft 
shoidd  begin  in  the  lowest  class,  and  should 
flpS'^lld  ^  ^6  ^  development  of  the  occupations  of  the 
Cardboard.  infant  school.  In  the  tirst  and  second  years 
articles  should  be  constinicted  of  paper,  and 
in  the  third  and  fourth  years  of  cardboard  of  varj-ing 
thickness.  Bags,  envelopes,  boxes,  trays,  and  other  suitable 
objects  should  be  made ;  scissors  and  paste  being  used  in 
the  paper  work,  and  the  knife,  steel  rxiler,  and  glue  in  the 
constructions  in  cardboard. 

The  general  plan  of  teaching  should  be  for  the  pupils  to 

Mode  of  examine  a  typical  object,  and  in  the  earlier 

Teaching.  lessons  to  take  it  to  pieces  in  order  to  ascer- 

tain  the  shape  of  the  paper  or  cardboard  and 

the  mode  in  which  the  parts  are  joined  together. 

In   the  elementary  stages  the  childi-en's  di-awings  will 
Drawings.  usually  be  made  on  the  actual  piece  of  paper 

or  cardboard  whicli  has  to  be  cut,  but  later 
they  should  be  encouraged  to  make  rough  sketches  of  parts 
or  wholes  of  finished  objects,  to  mark  in  pencil  the  mea- 
surements made,  and  from  these  i-ecords  to  produce  an 
accm-ate  drawing  to  measure.  This  drawing  should  then 
be  used  as  a  guide  to  the  actual  constructive  work.  In  the 
later  stages  these  plans  of  work  to  be  done  should  be  made 


520  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

without  analysing  an  actual  object,  the  memory  of  former 
analyses  giving  the  pupils  power  to  imagine  the  construc- 
tion. 

By  these  means  the  childi-en's  advance  may  be  a  real 
growth  in  constructive  power  and  not  merely  an  increase  in 
imitative  ability.  The  pupil  must  apprehend  clearly  the 
result  he  desires  to  attain,  and  himself  plan  the  means  by 
which  that  result  may  be  realised.  In  constructive  hand- 
work, more  than  in  all  other  school  exercises,  the  develop- 
ment of  self-reliance  and  initiative  is  among  the  most 
valuable  results  which  can  be  attained.  In  these  subjects 
emphatically  the  best  teacher  is  he  who,  to  the  greatest 
extent  and  in  the  shortest  time,  succeeds  in  becoming 
superfluous. 

21.  Educative  handicraft  in  wood,  involving  the  use  of 

tools,  cannot  profitably  be  begun  before  the 
S^wJod!^^        fifth  school  year.     It  should  then  be  studied 

intensively,  at  least  one  lesson  of  not  less  than 
two  houi's'  duration  being  given  to  it  each  week,  and  when 
it  is  possible  this  time  may,  with  advantage,  be  doubled; 
for  in  establishing  muscular  co-ordinations  it  is  frequency 
rather  than  duration  of  practice  which  leads  to  the  most 
speedy  attainment  of  the  desired  result.  Such  handicraft 
is  good  for  the  pupil  morally  and  mentally,  while  the 
physical  benefits  also  are  great.  During  a  lesson  in  wood- 
work the  pupil  gets  frequent  short  muscular  exercises, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  is  developing  self-reliance,  con- 
centration of  attention,  perseverance,  and  appreciation  of 
the  value  of  acciiracy. 

When  educative  wood- work  is  entered  upon  the  same 

principles  should  guide  the  teaching  as  in 
"V^od-work        constructions  in  paper  and  cardboard.     But 

here  new  difiiculties  are  met  with.  All  woods 
are  more  difiicult  to  manipulate  than  is  paper  or  cardboard, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    F0R31.  521 

and  woods  differ  from  each  other  in  their  amenability  to 
human  efforts.  Hence  various  kinds  of  tools  have  been 
invented,  each  of  which  is  adapted  to  secui'e  a  certain  kind 
of  result. 

The  course  should  be  so  arranged  that,  as  far  as  possible, 
only  one  difficulty,  whether  caused  by  material  or  by  tools, 
shall  be  encountered  at  a  time.  The  general  result  aimed 
at  is  not  the  ability  to  do  certain  kinds  of  joinery  or 
carpentry,  but  to  give  the  pupils  as  wide  a  command  as 
the  available  time  allows  over  their  material  environment, 
by  training  the  power  to  transfonn  it  by  handwork  to 
their  own  ends.  This  involves,  and,  indeed,  really  means, 
that  they  gain  an  appreciation  of  the  adaptability  of 
different  kinds  of  wood  to  cei-tain  purposes,  and  of  the 
suitability  of  certain  forms  of  tools  to  perform  certain 
kinds  of  operations. 

In  dealing  with  various  kinds  of  wood  reference  should 
constantly  be  made  to  the  knowledge  acquired 

Correlation        ^  ^^q  lessons  on  natural  history,  and  when 

witn  Natural  .  ^  "^ 

History.  usmg  any  particular  wood  the  pupil  should 

associate  with  it  the  memory  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  living  tree.  The  power  to  recognise  various 
trees  by  their  bark,  twigs,  leaves,  and  general  appearance 
should  now  be  supplemented  by  ability  to  distinguish 
various  woods  by  the  special  textm-e  of  each.  Thus  the 
wood  is  not  simply  something  to  cut  and  saw  and  plane, 
but  a  piece  of  the  real  living  world  which  man  has  learned 
to  use  for  his  own  purposes. 

But  the  direct  question  concerning  the  wood  to  be  used 
for  any  constructive  work  is  its  appropriateness  for  just 
that  kind  of  work.  Is  it  of  the  right  hardness  or  softness ; 
will  it  splinter  if  fine  work,  such  as  carving,  is  wrought  in 
it ;  will  it  take  a  polish,  if  a  polish  is  wished  for,  and,  if  so, 
win  polish  and  colour  be  just  what  are  wanted  ?     To  some 


522  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

of  these  questions  an  answer  can  be  given  after  examining 

tlie  wood  in  the  light  of  the  purpose,  but  the  answer  to  the 

others  must  be  sought  through  actual  trial. 

A  scheme  of  work  should   show   careful   gradation   in 

drawing,     tools,    and     models    constructed. 

Principles  of  -^g^Q}^  must  be  progressive  so  that  a  new 
Gradation.  r     a  ^  .  . 

model   involves    new   exercises    m    drawmg 

and  in  the  manipulation  of  tools.     Each  model  should  be 

complete  in  itself  and  not  be  a  mere  part  in  another,  or 

simply  an  exercise,  such  as  making  a  joint.     Progression 

shoidd   be    from    easy  to   more  difficult  operations,  from 

simpler  to  more  complex  productions. 

The  first  model  should  be  made  with  as  few  tools  as 
possible.  The  knife  is  the  only  single  tool 
'^°°^''  with  which  a  model  can  be  made  from  start 

to  finish,  and  by  using  this  tool  in  the  construction  of  the 
earlier  models  the  pupil  learns  much  about  the  peculiarities 
of  wood  and  notices  the  marked  differences  in  structure 
between  wood  and  the  cardboard  to  which  he  has  been 
accustomed. 

The  use  of  other  tools  should  be  introduced  one  at  a 
time,  though  every  new  tool  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be 
used  concurrently  with  those  previously  known.  Each 
tool  should  be  carefully  examined,  its  construction  noted, 
and  the  reason  for  that  construction  found  in  a  considera- 
tion of  the  kind  of  operation  it  is  intended  to  perform. 
Then  the  proper  mode  of  holding  and  using  it  should  be 
considered.  Finally,  the  first  crude  attempts  should  be 
made  to  use  it,  and  the  pupils  will  realise  how  much  easier 
it  is  to  talk  about  doing  a  thing  than  actually  to  do  it. 
No  attempt  should,  however,  be  made  to  attain  great  pro- 
ficiency with  any  one  tool  before  using  the  next.  As  soon 
as  a  pupil  can,  vnth  a  fair  amount  of  ease  and  accuracy,  saw 
off  a  piece  of  wood  from  a  board,  the  plane,  with  its  many 


THE    TEACHING    OP    FORM.  523 

different  purposes,  modes  of  using  and  results,  should  be 
introduced.  The  plane  will  take  longer  to  master  than 
does  the  saw,  but  as  soon  as  a  pupil  has  attained  a  fair 
degree  of  skill  in  its  manipulation,  he  should  begin  to  use 
the  chisel. 

Throughout  the  com-se  the  pupil  should  be  called  upon 
to  exercise  eveiy  new  step  in  knowledge  by  judging  what 
fonn  of  tool  is  best  adapted  to  the  work  given  him  to  do, 
which  always,  of  coiu'se,  should  demand  the  use  of  no  tools 
but  those  of  which  he  has  learnt  the  functions. 

In  every  part  of  the  course  carefulness  of  work  and 
accuracy  of  finish  are  among  the  chief  objects 
to  be  kept  in  view  both  by  teacher  and 
pupUs.  If  pupils  are  allowed  to  form  the  habit  of  rest- 
ing content  with  only  a  moderate  degree  of  accuracy  one 
of  the  most  important  educational  results  of  the  work  will 
be  missed.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered  that 
finished  accuracy  is  the  result  of  skill,  and,  therefore,  its 
degree  should  be  expected  to  increase  as  the  pupil's  skill 
develops.  To  expect  the  same  accuracy  of  finish  from  a 
beginner  as  may  weU  be  demanded  towards  the  end  of  the 
course  can  only  lead  to  disappointment  of  both  teacher  and 
taught,  whilst  much  waste  of  time  and  deadening  of  interest 
by  the  over  emphasis  given  to  the  purely  mechanical  aspect 
of  the  work  will  be  an  incidental  result.  The  teacher 
should  be  satisfied,  then,  if  throughout  the  coui'se  eveiy 
piece  of  work  is  as  accurate  as  the  worker  can  make  it. 
Careful  measui-ements,  use  of  eye  and  straight-edge  to  test 
whether  the  sui-face  is  level,  and  of  touch  to  judge  whether 
it  is  smooth,  use  of  tiy-square  to  secure  and  to  test  right 
angles  should  all  be  continuous.  No  defect  should  be 
hidden  by  putty  or  covered  up  in  any  other  way.  The 
result  should  stand  out  in  its  bare  and  honest  truth  as  just 
what  it  is— a  closer  or  less  close  approximation  to  excellence. 


524  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

Handicraft,  however,  is  not  only  executive  skill.  Its 
essential  foundation  is  in  the  planning  of 
Vla^a^s^^  what  is  to  be  done.  Such  planning  might 
conceivably  be  performed  entirely  mentally. 
But  in  practice  the  mental  conception  is  put  upon  paper, 
and  in  teaching  such  a  process  is  essential,  as  it  is  the  only 
way  in  which  the  teacher  can  know  whether  the  final  con- 
struction embodies  the  original  plan,  or  whether  the  plan 
is  adapted  to  its  pui'pose. 

As  in  all  other  branches  of  originative  work,  the  process 
is  one  of  simple  imitation  at  first  and  of  adapted  imitation 
later.  The  pupil  begins,  then,  by  examining  a  finished 
object,  and  that  this  examination  may  be  as  thorough  and 
effective  as  possible,  it  is  well  to  have  at  first  dissected 
models  which  he  can  actually  take  to  pieces  and  put 
together  again.  He  then  makes  careful  di-awings  of  it  to 
scale.  His  drawings  at  first  should  be  of  front  elevation 
and  plan.  At  later  stages  side  elevations  and  sections,  and 
oblique  or  conventional  isometric  views  should  be  made. 
After  completing  the  di-awing  the  pupil  should  proceed  to 
make  his  model  from  it,  and  should  be  required  to  make 
his  measurements  on  the  wood  as  accurate  as  those  on  the 
paper. 

After  considerable  practice  he  attains  a  kind  of  generic 
memory  of  the  more  common  forms  of  plans  and  construc- 
tions, and  he  is  able  to  adapt  the  remembered  elements  to 
designing  a  new  construction  adapted  to  meet  a  certain 
need.  Thus  he  gains  the  power  to  design  a  model  when 
only  its  uses  are  explained  to  him,  as,  for  example,  if  he  is 
required  to  fashion  a  box  constructed  to  hold  nails  and 
screws  in  separate  compartments,  or  a  hanging  bracket  on 
which  a  lamp  may  be  placed.  He  has  then  reached  the 
fiilly  consti'uctive  stage  in  which  he  both  plans  and 
executes,  the  drawings  made  in  orthographic,  oblique  or 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  525 

isometric  projection  l.eiug  the  intermediary  between  his 
idea  as  conceived  in  thought  and  his  idea  as  actualised  in 
wood. 

In  this,  as  in  other  forms  of  training  skill,  there  is  no 
Models.  ''^''^  ^«^*  "s  *o  <^^i-aw  out  a  detailed  svUabus 

Every  competent  teacher  will  prefer 'to  plan 
his  own  Moreover,  a  slavish  copy  of  other  schemes  would 
not  be  foUowmg  out  the  principle  of  initiative  which  should 
be  one  of  the  objects  of  teaching  and  which  should  charac- 
terise the  teacher  or  it  wiU  never  mark  the  tauo-ht  No 
other  material  lends  itself  to  such  a  variety  of  form  and  to 
such  a  variety  of  tool  exercises  as  wood 

In  making  his  list  of  models,  the  teacher  should  take 
care  that  the  articles  are  such  as  can  be  made  entirely 
by  tbe  pupils,  that  they  can  be  used  by  the  pupil  either 
for  hmiself  or  m  his  home,  and  that  thev  shall  tend  to 
develop  m  him  an  idea  of  good  shape.  Such  a  Hst 
won  d,  perhaps,  include  such  models  as  :-Penholder  seed- 
marker,  rulers  (round  and  flat),  plant-pot  sticks,  finc^er 
plate,  letter  opener,  paper  knife;  and  models  in  which  the 
commoner  modes  of  fastening  and  jointing  would  be 
incorporated,  such  as  holders  for  keys,  bStton-hooks, 
matcbes,  watches,  etc.,  money-box.  pen  and  inkstand 
letter-rack,  knife-box,  box  for  shoe  brushes,  etc    etc 

The  work  is  most  interesting  in  itself,  as  it  leads  to 
the  production  of  a  visible  object  which  did  not  exist 
before.  But  obviously  both  its  interest  and  its  value  Tn 
leading  the  pupil  into  relations  with  the  actual  world  are 
mcreased  If  the  objects  made  are  things  of  real  use  A 
com-se  which  consists  simply  of  joints  and  other  elementt 
of  construction  but  which  never  embodies  those  elements 
sir  bXt^^^^^  ^  ''^"^  '''  ^-P-  ^-  -^^ch  t 
It  may  be  helpfid.  however,  to  iUustrat^  the  principle. 


526  THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM. 

we  Lave  laid  down  by  a  brief  consideration  of  two  of  tlie 
exercises  which  might  appropriately  find  a  place  in  the 
course.  In  preparing  his  scheme  of  work,  the  teacher  of 
handicraft  would  'analyse'  each  model,  in  order  to  see 
that  it  came  in  its  proper  order  in  the  series,  arranged  in 
complexity  and  difficulty  of  tool  exercises. 

The  first  model  would  probably  be  made  entirely  with 
the  knife,  and,  in  the  scheme,  the  analysis  would  be  some- 
thing like  the  following : — 

3Iodel  I. — Eound  handle  for  paint-brush. 
Wood. — Birch  or  yellow  pine. 
Bimensions  when  finished. — 4"  x  -}". 
Tool  used. — Knife. 

Exercises. — Long-cut  in  cutting  to  square,  octagonal,  and 
round  form ;    Gross-cut  in   making   ends    '  square ' 
and  in  cutting  to  length. 
06/eci.— Training    of    senses   of    touch   and    sight — of 
accuracy  and  perseverance — of  muscles  of  fingers 
and  hand. 
Having  made  careful  dimensioned  drawings,  the  pupils 
would  be  supplied  with  pieces  of  wood,  previously  cut  to 
approximate  size  by  the  teacher,  and  suitable  in  all  respects 
as  to  straightness  of  grain,  hardness,  etc.    They  would  then 
make  an  attempt  to  cut  one  side  of  the  wood  perfectly 
level,    using   eyes,  fingers,  and  straight-edge  to  test   for 
accuracy. 

Having  succeeded  in  making  a  good  surface,  probably 
cutting  up  several  pieces  of  wood  in  their  attempts,  the 
pupils  would  cut  an  adjacent  side  level,  making  it  at  right 
angles  with  the  first—or  '  face ' — side.  When  the  face-side 
and  edge  are  cut  at  right  angles,  the  wood  should  be  cut 
to  width,  and  then  to  thickness. 

The  model — which  now  would  be  a  square  prism — 
should  next  be  cut  octagonal,  then  round,  cut  to  length 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FORM.  527 

and  finally  finished  oE  with  a  small  piece  of  glass-paper.  It 
should  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  the  pupil  is  probably 
making  his  first  attempt  at  cutting  wood  accurately  with  a 
knife,  that  his  previous  experience  has  been  in  cutting 
cardboard,  and  that  he  has  many  new  difficulties  to 
encounter. 

Some  of  these  he  tries  to  overcome  by  the  liberal  use  of 
glasspaper.  This  should  not  be  allowed,  but  accuracy  of 
cutting  must  be  insisted  upon.  For  one  model  successfully 
made  with  glasspaper  there  are  more  than  fifty  spoilt. 

Wlien  the  pupil  came  to  the  construction  of,  say,  a  small 
stand  for  a  plant-vase,  which  would  necessarily  be  placed 
far  on  in  the  series  of  models,  the  method  of  procedure 
would  be  different.  After  securing  from  his  teacher  a  few 
particulars  as  to  dimensions,  etc.,  the  pupil  should  make  a 
sketch  of  an  original  design  for  a  plant-vase  stand. 

When  he  has  sketched  one  to  his  teacher's  satisfaction, 
accurate  dimensioned  drawings  should  be  made  before  pro- 
ceeding to  the  construction. 

The  teacher's  analysis  might  be : — 

Model. — Stand  for  plant-vase. 

Wood. — Basswood. 

Dimensions.— Height   V  6",  thickness  |",  vddth  of  top 

Ql" 

New  TooZs.— Mortice -chisel  and  mallet. 

New  Exercises.— Mortice  and  tenon;  long  sawinw  with 

rip-saw,  and  wave  sawing  with  bow-saw. 
OZy'ec^.— Training  of  eye  (beauty  of  form)— orig-inality 

of  design— self-reliance — muscles  of  arms  and  chest. 

In  rural  districts,  where  the   number   of   pupils   in   a 

school  is  not  large,  it  is  not  usually  found 
woodwork  in  t     j.  i.  ■-,  . 

Rural  Schools,    expedient  to  provide  as  expensive  an  equip- 

ment  as  is  possible  in  town  schools.     The 

circumstances  of  each  case  should  be  considered,  but  the 


528  THE    TEACHING    OF    FOBM. 

object  in  view  is  tlie  same,  whether  the  teaching  is  given 
in  town  or  in  country — the  learning  by  doing  and  the 
active  employment  of  the  cliild's  powers  in  securing  some 
material  result  of  interest  to  him.  A  modified  conrse  of 
instruction,  in  which  the  objects  made  have  special  fitness 
for  the  district,  would  include  such  things  as  seed-markers, 
plant-sticks,  dibbles,  shafts  for  hammers  and  axes,  milking 
stools,  handles  for  spades.  The  tools  required  for  such  a 
course  are  neither  numerous  nor  costly,  and  in  many  dis- 
tricts the  timber  woiild  be  at  hand. 

22.  When  a  pupil  has  received  instruction  in  woodwork 

during  two  or  thi-ee  years,  a  year's  course  in 
Handicraft  in     ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  benefit  him  greatly.     The 

course  should  proceed  by  careful  gradation 
from  wire-work  and  soldering  to  working  in  sheet 
metal  and  forging.  It  would  include  such  models  as 
wire  puzzles,  bent  ii'on  brackets,  coat  suspenders, 
meat  hooks,  angle  irons,  nuts  and  bolts,  hinges,  staple 
and  hasp,  and  other  simply  formed  objects  in  common 
use. 

23.  In  conclusion,  we  would  repeat  that  the  object  of  in- 

troducing handicraft  in  wood  or  metal  into 
The  Teacher  of  gd^QQig  ig  ^n  educational  one,  and  that  its 

value  depends  on  the  teacher.  A  mere 
mechanic  with  no  grasp  of  educational  principles  will 
render  the  course  of  little  or  no  educative  value.  It  is  not 
the  production  of  objects  by  rule  of  thumb  that  is  wanted 
but  the  development  of  certain  qualities  in  the  pupil  by 
bringing  him  into  certain  effective  relations  with  his  sur- 
roundings. And  for  this  purpose  a  real  teacher  is  needed. 
Of  course  he  must  understand  woodwork,  but  he  must  also 
understand  education  and  teaching,  and  his  grasp  of  the 
latter  should  be  suflficiently  profound  to  take  up  into  itself 
bis  knowledge  of  the  former. 


THE    TEACHING    OF    FOEM.  529 

24.  Altliougli  not  directly  concerned  -with  the  apprehen- 
sion and  construction  of  form,  yet,  as  one  of 
Gardens.  *^®  most  valuable  modes  of  handicraft  for 

rui'al  schools,  school  gardening  may  here 
receive  a  brief  mention.  In  school  gardening  the  pupils 
learn  to  perform  in  an  intelligent  manner  a  class  of 
operations  which  play  a  large  part  in  country  life,  and 
which  may  be  made  both  profoundly  interesting  and 
of  great  physical  benefit.  The  high  educational  value  of 
the  cultivation  of  a  garden  and  the  close  and  intimate 
connection  that  can  be  established  between  such  work  and 
natiiral  history  is  shown  by  the  success  which  has  attended 
this  form  of  instiiiction  in  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Austria, 
and  Germany,  and  in  a  few  cases  in  England. 

The  practical  instruction  would  be  given  chiefly  in 
the  spring  and  autumn.  The  work  during  spring  would 
embrace  the  preparation  of  the  ground,  planting  of  fruit 
trees,  vegetable  gromng  and  flower  culture. 

During  autumn  there  would  be  the  necessary  attention 
to  the  fruit  trees  and  bushes — binding  young  trees,  proppinf 
them,  and  noting  the  diseases  to  which  the  trees,  fruit,  or 
leaves  are  subject — the  gathering  of  seeds  and  the  takincr 
up  and  potting  of  plants  which  must  pass  the  winter  under 
shelter. 

In  conclusion  we  will  repeat  that  the  essential  thing  to 
secure,  whether  in  town  or  countiy,  is  that  handwork, 
whatever  be  its  form,  should  always  be  both  headwork 
and  heartwork  as  well.  The  teacher  who  secui-es  this  may 
well  rest  content. 


f  R.  TO.  34 


530 


THE    TEAC31ING    OF    FORM. 


The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  : — 
Liberty  Tadd  :    New    Methods  in  Edu- 
cation         8/6  (Low,  Marston 

&Co.) 
(A  full  and  suggestive  treatment  of  the  whole  subject.) 
Unwin  :  A  Manual  of  Clay  Modelling  ...     3/-  (Longmans). 
(Deals  practically  with  the  modelling  of  natural  forms.) 

Holland  :  Clay  Modelling 3/6  (G inn). 

(Deals  practically  -with  conventional  art  forms  on  tiles.) 
Morris  :      Complete     Drawing    Course. 

Parti 4/6  (Longmans). 

Moore  and  Clarke  :  Report  on  Methods 
of  Teaching  Drawing  and  Designs  in 
Paris  Schools        


Board  of  Education  :  Suggestions,  pp.  65-9 

Rich  :  Paper  Sloyd 

Hodson  :  Educational  Slo5'd 
Educational  Sloyd,   by  an   Inspector   of 

Schools 
Holman  :  Hand  and  Eye  Training 

Wright:  School  and  Garden 


3d.  (Southwood, 

Smith  &  Co.) 
8d.  (Wyman). 
3/6  (Ginn). 
2/6  (Philip  &  Son). 

4/6  (Philip  &  Son). 
1/-   (Clarkson  & 
Griffiths,  Manchester). 
9d.  (Cassell). 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.' 

1.  The  aim  of  tlie  teacher  of  needlework  should  be  to 

develop  in  the  pupils  the  power  of  coping- 
Purpose  of         ^th  the  actual  needs  of  life  in  the  matter  of 
Teacliing 
Needlework.       dress.     Therefore  the  methods  and  processes 

taught  in  the  school  must  be  such  as  are 
applicable  in  the  home  life,  and  the  pupils  must  know 
when  and  how  to  apply  them.  This  knowledge  demands 
that  the  girl  shall  have  acquired  a  considerable  degree  of 
manual  skill  during  the  school  training.  She  must  also 
have  learned  to  exercise  her  practical  judgment,  and  to  act 
upon  her  own  initiative.  The  needlework  teaching  must 
therefore  follow  those  lines  which  -will  give  fullest  scope 
for  the  development  of  these  powers. 

2.  In  the  first  place,  the  manual  skill  desired  is  that 

which  can  be  applied  in  the  stress  of  a  busy 
slm"^^^  '"^        ^^^^6  ^^®-     ^^®  ^^  consider  briefly  the  con- 
ception of  skill  whicli  is  involved  in  each  of 
the  three  leading  branches  of  school  needlework.     These 
branches  are  - 

(a)  the  stitches  employed  m  garments; 

(b)  the  cutting  out  and  making  of  garments ; 

(c)  the  repair  of  garments,  household  linen,  etc. 

1  By  E.  L.  Melville,  M.A. 
531 


532  THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK. 

In  the  case  of  tlie  stitclies  the  teacher  should  be  satisfied 
with  quick  regular  working,  such  as  causes 
Kinds  of  Skill  ^^^  undue  strain  upon  the  eyes.  Counting 
threads  is  a  reprehensible  practice,  though 
fine  and  more  delicate  work  may  be  introduced  into  the 
syllabus  for  the  older  pupils,  for  motor  memory  has  then 
reduced  the  difficulty  of  fine  workmanship.  Ornamental 
stitches  may  be  included  with  advantage  because  the  girls 
take  pleasm-e  in  them  and  they  develop  good  taste  and  a 
responsive  touch. 

The  need  for  the  attainment  of  skill  in  cutting  out  and 
making  garments  is  still  greater,  since  sewing  machines 
have  now  so  largely  replaced  hand  sewing.  Too  frequently 
teachers  have  planned,  cut  out,  and  tacked  all  the  garments 
made  by  the  children,  who  thus  are  quite  imaccustomed  to 
the  use  of  scissors,  and  the  handling  of  material.  The 
pupils  should,  whenever  possible,  both  cut  out  and  piit 
together  the  garments  chosen  for  the  year,  as  well  as  carry 
out  the  seA\ang  of  them.  Then  clumsy  manipulation  will 
gradually  give  place  to  dexterity  and  confidence.  One  plan 
adopted  by  a  head  teacher  known  to  tlie  writer  is  that  of 
allowing  the  classes  after  the  third  year  to  cut  out  and  fix 
for  the  younger  childi-en  Avhen  necessary. 

Thirdly,  skill  in  the  repairing  of  garments  can  only  be 
attained  by  giving  the  children  opportunities  of  dealing 
with  actual  worn  garments,  where  they  will  meet  with 
real  difficulties. 

One  method  often  advocated  as  a  means  of  training 
manual  dexterity  is  that  of  providing 
Means  of  mechanical    aids,    as,    for    example,    dotted 

calico.  To  teach  the  button-hole  in  this 
way  is  surely  in  direct  opposition  to  true  educational  prin- 
ciples. Children  in  the  fourth  year  ought  to  be  able  to 
dispense  with  any  such  help.     So  too,  the  use  of  diagonals 


THE    TEACHING    OF    NEEDLEWORK.  533 

in  placing  a  j^atch  is  a  mere  temporary  aid  which  cannot 
he  appHed  in  the  case  of  real  garments.  The  nse  of  rulers 
in  making  tucks  and  pleats  is  also  undesirable.  Dexterity 
can  only  be  trained  by  allowing  hand  and  eye  to  assist  one 
another  without  the  intervention  of  devices  which  must 
later  be  discontinued. 

The  teacher's  chief  instrument  in  directing  the  move- 
ments of  the  pupils  is  frequent  demonstration  on  enlarged 
specimens.  This  enlarged  ajjparatus  should,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  be  of  the  same  material  as  the  children's  specimens. 
Complete  sets  of  such  apparatus  are  in  use  in  many  schools. 
Teachers  will  be  wise  in  choosing  for  demonstration  pur- 
poses material  wdiich  does  not  confuse  l)y  a  multiplicity  of 
holes.  Often  a  larger  piece  of  the  material  given  to  the 
children  is  most  effective.  Large  needles  and  very  coarse 
cotton  are  obtainable,  and  thus  the  whole  process  can  quite 
easily  be  shown  to  a  class.  To  pin  up  the  apparatus  on 
the  blackboard  is  convenient  as  regards  its  actual  mani- 
pulation, which  must  be  done  skilfully  and  readily  if  it  is 
to  produce  the  desired  results  in  the  class.  Demonstration 
frames  would  be  much  more  useful  than  they  often  are,  if 
they  contained  a  larger  area.  In  any  case,  by  subdividing 
large  classes,  teachers  will  greatly  add  to  the  value  of  the 
demonstration,  which  must  be  clearly  seen  by  each  child. 

A  very  important  addition  to  this  demonstration  is  the 
use  of  good  diagrams.  Stages  in  a  process  can  be  repre- 
sented by  a  di'awing,  whereas  the  needle  and  sewing  cotton 
cannot  be  left  in  the  exact  position  which  demands  care  on 
the  children's  part.  As  a  rule  the  teacher  should  make 
the  diagram  after  she  has  demonstrated  the  difficulty,  so 
that  the  children  clearly  see  its  reference.  The  drawing 
should  be  bold,  large,  and  simple,  the  stitches  few  and 
very  much  enlarged.  Coloured  chalks  are  very  helpful 
here. 


534         THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK. 

Sometimes  a  more  elaborate  'diagram  requires  preparation 
beforehand,  as,  for  example,  diagrams  illustrating  the 
position  of  the  needles  in  knitting,  or  of  the  thumb  and 
stroking  needle  for  gathering.  These  will  amply  repay  the 
teacher  for  the  trouble  taken  in  preparing  them.  Individual 
mistakes  can  be  corrected  by  the  pupils  themselves  with 
such  drawings  confronting  them,  and  the  amount  of  in- 
dividual teaching  and  repeated  demonstration  is  thus 
minimised.  Sometimes  the  children  may  reproduce  in  a 
diagram  a  point  jiist  demonstrated,  and  in  this  way  revise  it. 
Finally,  instruction  should  be  given  in  those  minor  details 
of  working  which  tend  so  much  to  produce  clean,  smart 
results.  The  ways  of  placing  fixing  pins  and  threads,  the 
least  cimibersome  modes  of  holding  work,  the  neatest 
starting  points,  are  cases  in  point.  Thus  the  children  may 
profit  by  the  experience  of  others. 

3.  Practical  judgment,  self-reliance  and  iuitio.tive,  can 
only  be  trained  by  allowing  the  children  to 
Training  of  make  stitches  and  to  work  exercises  which 
jSgment  and  ^^'^  ^'^^^^  required  in  garments,  and  to  apply 
Initiative.  these  to  garments.     They  should  be  intro- 

duced to  the  various  stitches  and  exercises  as 
the  garments  to  be  taught  require  them,  so  that  they 
realise  the  practical  value  of  their  work.  Again,  childi-en 
should  not  merely  cut  out  garments  from  dimensions  and 
shape's  given  to  them  by  the  teacher.  The  pattern  to  be 
taught  should  be  studied  in  its  relation  to  actual  figures, 
and  to  the  piu-pose  of  the  garment.  Thus  the  children 
will  understand  what  legulates  the  shaping  and  construc- 
tion of  garments.  Their  sense  of  proportion  ^vill  be  trained, 
and  they  will  depend  not  merely  upon  their  memory  but 
upon  their  power  of  reasoning. 

The  principle  of  all  constructive  lessons  is  involved 
here,  namely,  that  the  pupil  shoidd  first  form  a  clear  idea 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         535 

of  the  result  wanted,  if  necessary  by  actually  handling 
some  completed  instance  of  it,  and  then  proceed  to  obtain 
that  result.  Practical  judgment  can  only  be  really  de- 
veloped by  allowing  the  child  plenty  of  opportunity  for 
relying  upon  her  own  power  of  devising  methods.  It  is 
not  enough  that  she  should  recognise  the  suitability  of 
those  proposed  by  other  people.  Children  will  not  always 
have  patterns  at  hand,  or  older  people  to  give  advice.  When 
placed  in  new  circumstances  they  must  be  able  to  act  on 
their  own  suggestions.  Therefore,  the  mode  of  teaching 
shoTild  gradually  progress  until  in  the  end  the  pupils  are 
as  largely  as  possible  independent  of  definite  instruction. 
This  general  advance  may  be  briefly  discussed  at  this  point. 
The  form  of  teaching  in  the  earliest  years  must  neces- 
sarily be  largely  demonstration  and  instruc- 

Progressive        tion  in  the  process  of  consti-uction,  given  bv 
Nature  of  the     4.1,^1  ^  .    ,   ,        *=  -^ 

Mode  of  ^^®  teacher,  and  accompanied  by  imitation 

Teaching.  by   the    children     with    criticism    and    en- 

couragement on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 
But  even  such  simple  exercises  as  the  fixing  of  hems  and 
seams,  and  the  stitches  required  for  them,  offer  much  scope 
for  the  training  of  initiative.  Little  children  can  deter- 
mine why  a  raw  edge  is  inadmissible,  and  can  suggest  how 
to  get  rid  of  it.  Although  to  suggest  the  hemming  stitch 
would  be  beyond  them,  they  can  easily  be  led  to  reason 
about  its  suitability  to  the  purpose.  A  little  time  given  to 
the  training  of  this  inquiring  habit  of  mind  will  amply 
repay  the  teacher  later.  Thus  even  in  these  early  stages 
the  children  can  at  times  suggest  both  result  and  process, 
though  often  both  are  beyond  them. 

There  is,  however,  the  intermediate  stage  in  which  the 
children,  by  examination  of  a  finislied  example,  can  arrive 
at  the  process  of  obtaining  it.  The  teacher's  function  is  then 
to  demonstrate  the  details  of  the  plan  suggested  by  tJie 


536  '^HE    TEACHING    OF    NEEULEWOEK. 

class.  Tliis  examination  may  involve  tlie  unpicking  and 
close  handling  of  tlie  example.  For  this  purpose  the 
teacher  must  supply  each  child  with  a  specimen  already 
prepared  by  another  class,  or  have  ready  an  enlarged 
specimen  for  this  analysis.  The  children's  synthesis  will, 
in  many  cases  follow  in  its  entirety  after  the  teacher's 
demonstration.  This  is  preferable  since  it  demands  self- 
reliance,  and  retention  of  the  steps  of  a  whole  process.  In 
other  cases,  after  the  children  have  reached  a  broad  idea  of 
the  plan  of  working,  the  teacher  may  find  it  advisable  to 
let  their  activity  and  her  demonstration  advance  together, 
step  by  step.  The  difficulty  of  detail,  and  the  retentive 
powers  of  the  class  will  determine  this.  The  herring-bone 
stitch  usually  needs  the  latter  procedure ;  the  simple  darn 
may  be  taught  in  either  way  according  to  the  class.  The 
two  stages  of  the  gusset,  shaping  and  inserting,  can  be 
taken  according  to  the  former  plan. 

In  the  higlier  classes  the  teaching  should  demand  the 
inventing  not  only  of  the  process,  but  also  of  the  result. 
The  three  stages,  direct  imitation,  invention  of  process,  in- 
vention of  result  and  process,  must,  nevertheless,  largely 
overlap  throughout  the  course.  Thus  it  would  be  unfair  to 
expect  even  the  girls  of  the  sixth  year  to  suggest  a  gusset 
without  having  previously  examined  one. 

(a)  In  this  highest  form  of  teaching  the  teacher  must 
first  give  a  definite  purpose  to  the  children,  such  as  making 
a  night  dress  front  opening,  repairing  a  worn  vest  or  a 
pinafore  torn  near  the  corner,  or  drafting  an  overall  yoke 
pattern. 

(h)  Bv  the  help  of  previous  knowledge  the  pupils  should 
next  picture  mentally  the  requisite  result.  The  teacher 
should  act  here  as  guide  until  the  children  have  formed  an 
established  habit  of  thus  definitely  deciding  upon  a  suit- 
able result.     Before  any  attempt  is  made  to  produce  the 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         53? 

proposed  article  it  is  always  well  to  give  definite  expression 
to  its  essential  characteristics  by  means  of  a  drawing  or 
plan.  The  teacher  Avill  find  that  such  preparatory  di'aw- 
ings  compel  the  pnpils  to  analyse  and  define  their  concep- 
tions of  the  end  in  view,  and  thus  the  conception  becomes 
explicitly  apprehended.  Unless  tliis  is  done  the  effoiis  of 
the  gu'ls  tend  to  become  mere  guesses,  but  when  once  the 
idea  of  the  end  in  view  has  been  really  defined  the  difficulty 
of  discovering  a  process  by  wliich  to  attain  that  end  is 
much  diminished. 

(c)  The  gii'ls  may  next  determine  the  process  by  which 
the  desired  result  can  be  attained,  the  teacher  herself  giving 
as  few  liints  as  are  compatiljle  -with  her  desii'e  to  prevent 
futile  suggestions. 

Thus  in  the  repau'ing  of  the  torn  corner  of  an  apron,  the 

method  of  print  patching  and  the  principle 

Nature  of  the     ^f   q]i  patching   being  known,  the  children 

Necessary  -       n'O-j^j  ■,      ,-,  •  -,         i 

Exercises.  should  first  try  to   apply  these  ideas   here. 

They  may  suggest  the  cutting  away  of  the 
corner,  and  the  replacing  of  it  by  a  patch  with  hems  pre- 
pared. They  should  next  try  to  apply  such  a  suggestion 
until  finally  they  see  the  advantage  of  having  continuous 
hems.  At  this  stage  they  should  represent  by  a  drawing 
the  aj)pearance  of  the  right  and  Avrong  sides.  •  They  will 
then  see  the  advisability  of  first  unpicking  the  hems  on  the 
gai-ment  and  of  placing  the  patch  in  position  before  cutting 
away  the  corner  itself.  Finally  the  hems  will  once  more  be 
turned  down. 

This  habit  of  foreseeing  difficulties  and  modifying  plans 
to  meet  them  is  the  all-important  quality  needed.  Exercises 
requiring  the  iiudoiug  of  a  seam  or  band  in  repairing  will 
involve  very  little  further  trouble  on  the  teacher's  part  if 
taken  up  after  the  above  instance.  The  choice  of  exercises 
is  the  leading  factor  here  in  the  training  of  real  judgment. 


538         THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK. 

Let  tlieni  be  in  relation  to  real  life,  the  mending  of  actual 
garments  and  lionseliold  goods,  the  making  of  real  garments 
or  parts  of  them.  In  some  schools  a  dressmaker  is  now 
appointed  whose  duties  include  this  instruction  in  the  re- 
pairing of  garments. 

Finally,  occasional  opportunities  should  be  given  to  the 
pupils  of  working  entirely  without  guid- 
t  a '^'nff  "  &nce  when  the  teacher  knows  them  to  possess 
the  necessary  skill  and  knowledge.  They 
should  be  left  to  their  own  resources  in  this  case,  while 
the  teacher  merely  checks  guessing.  The  individual 
methods  will  then  be  criticised,  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages discussed,  and  the  best  method  finally  adopted  for 
further  practice  work.  A  class  which  has  repaired  a  vest 
worn  under  the  arm  could  thus  be  left  to  repair  a  bodice 
similarly  worn,  whilst  a  class  which  fully  luider stands  the 
principle  of  construction  in  the  case  of  the  overall  yoke 
could  reasonably  be  expected  to  draft  a  yoke  pattern  for 
the  night  dress  without  further  assistance.  No  better  pre- 
paration for  actual  life  can  be  afforded  than  this  self- 
teaching,  which  tests  so  effectively  the  power  of  the  pupil 
to  apply  the  skill  and  knowledge  gained. 

Of  equal  importance  with  the  foregoing  is  the  training 
of  the  elder  girls  in  calculating,  and,  when  possible,  pur- 
chasing, the  amounts  of  material  necessary  for  the  various 
garments.  The  relative  value  of  such  material  and  its  suit- 
ability for  certain  purposes  as  determined  by  its  cost  and 
durability  are  eminently  practical  considerations  which 
should  have  presented  themselves  to  every  qualified  needle- 
woman. Still  another  branch  of  knowledge  of  great 
service  in  a  giii's  training  is  concerned  with  the  well- 
known  plans  for  economising  material  when  two  or  more 
ga,rments  are  cut  at  the  same  time,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
sleeves  of  night  dresses  or  shirts,  or  the  goi-ed  side-breadths 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         539 

of  petticoats.  On  all  these  matters  careful  notes  should  be 
made  bj  the  pupils,  and  these  should  be  of  lasting  use  to 
them  in  later  life. 

4.  The  early  part  of  the  school  course  in  needlework  is 

concerned  mainly  with  giving  a  fiuidamental 
of^the^ChieT^  knowledge  of  the  simpler  stitches  necessary 
Stitches  and  in  making  garments.  Instruction  in  hem- 
tneir  Applica-    u-^i^g^  seaming,  and  knitting  comprises  the 

main  portion  of  the  work  during  the  first 
three  years,  and  to  these  running  might  be  added  with  ad- 
vantage. The  yovmger  children  cannot,  of  course,  cut  out 
the  articles  of  wearing  apparel  to  which  they  apply  these 
stitches,  but  the  elder  girls  may  be  allowed  to  do  this,  and 
to  fix  those  portions  which  present  too  great  difficulty. 
Hemming  is  generally  begun  in  the  infants'  school  and 

further  practised  in   the    first   year   of    the 

upper  school.  The  comparative  smallness  of 
the  stitch  and  the  executive  skill  demanded  justify  the 
teacher  in  allowing  the  use  of  dotted  calico  by  the  children 
at  first.  Although  the  folding  of  the  hem  is  usually  taken 
after  the  stitch  has  been  learned,  there  seems  little  reason 
why  it  should  not  be  ta^ught  first  if  the  teacher  permits 
the  earlier  exercises  to  be  done  on  lined  paper  and  dotted 
calico.  It  affords  a  good  opportunity  for  suggestive  co- 
operation by  the  children,  who  vnll  easily  explain  the  steps 
of  the  folding — for  example,  the  first  fold  and  the  second  a 
little  deeper — whilst  the  tacking  thread  is  decidedly  easier 
than  the  hemming  stitch.  The  order  of  teaching  the  exercise 
cannot  follow  that  in  which  it  is  afterwards  worked. 

First,  the  stitch  shoidd  be  examined  by  the  children  so 
that  they  grasp  its  use.  When  they  understand  how  it  is 
intended  to  catch  a  small  part  of  both  fold  and  garment, 
the  teacher  should  demonstrate  its  construction.  In  ad- 
dition to  her  enlarged   apparatus,  which   presents    some 


540  THE    TEACHING    OF    NEEDLEWORK. 

difficulty  in  showing  how  the  work  should  be  held,  a  good 
diagram  previously  prepared,  illustrating  the  position  of 
the  fingers  and  the  relative  places  of  the  needle  and  the 
left  thiunb,  should  be  kept  before  the  class  throughout  the 
lesson.  The  dotted  cahco  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made  is  advantageous  for  this  practice  because  its 
coarse  yet  soft  texture  permits  of  a  larger  and  freer  stitch. 
Its  use  should,  however,  be  discontinued  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Secondly,  the  commencement  would  be  taught,  and  this 
demands  a  knowledge  of  the  stitch.  The  general  ideas  as 
to  the  requirements  of  a  good  start,  neatness  and  strength, 
Avill  first  be  made  clear,  after  which  the  teacher  will  de- 
monstrate the  method,  if  possible  getting  some  proposals 
from  the  class.  The  new  position  of  the  needle  should  be 
compared  with  its  ordinary  position,  and  both  emphasised 
on  simple  diagrams. 

Tlie  method  of  fijiishing  and  the  making  of  the  join 
would  follow  next.  The  latter  introduces  the  new  idea  of 
the  desirabihty  of  continuity  of  stitch.  When  the  teacher 
has  shown  the  children  how  to  pla,ce  the  broken  end  of 
cotton  so  that  it  lies  between  the  fold  and  the  garment, 
they  should  be  required  to  apply  their  knowledge  of  the 
start  and  to  complete  the  join.  The  careful  teacher  will 
especially  emphasise  by  demonstration  and  diagrams  the 
points  in  which  children  generally  fail,  the  distance  of  the 
new  stitch  from  the  last  one,  the  holding  of  the  two  short 
ends  firmly,  and  the  method  of  enclosing  them  by  the  new 
stitches.  These  ends  must  not  be  pushed  up  under  the 
fold  and  then  disregarded — an  easy  but  insecure  arrange- 
ment. 

The  articles  to  which  the  stitch  can  be  applied  should 
be  introduced  as  soon  as  the  children  have  attained  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  regularity  of  working.     Handkerchiefs,  soft 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         541 

dusters,  mats,  doll's  apparel,  can  all  be  fixed  and  sewn  by 
the  childi-en.  Large  goods,  and  those  made  of  stiff  material 
are  to  be  avoided.  Glass  cloths  should  be  freed  from  their 
dressing  before  childi-en  are  required  to  hem  them. 

The  next  exercises  are  concerned  with  the  joining  of  two 

pieces  of  material.     The  folding  and  stitches 
Running.  ^""^      involved  occupy  the  first  two  years  in  the 

senior  school. 
The  folding  for  the  simplest  case  of  joining  presents 
no  difliculty.  The  two  uniting  stitches,  the  seaming  and 
the  running,  however,  require  careful  teaching.  They 
should  be  taught  on  the  same  plan,  and  following  the  same 
order,  as  the  hemming  stitch.  By  comparison  with  it,  the 
methods  of  starting,  joining,  and  fastening  off  in  seaming, 
can  all  be  determined  by  the  children.  A  well  prepared 
diagram  illustrating  the  position  of  the  work  should 
also  be  kept  before  the  children's  notice.  The  relative 
values  of  seaming  and  running  should  receive  attention. 
Finally  the  pupils  may  make  bags  for  brushes  and  dusters, 
cushion  covers,  iron  and  kettle  holders,  doll's  clothes. 
If  these  last  are  allowed,  the  teacher  must  require  as  care- 
ful work  as  in  any  other  articles.  They  are  small  and  easy 
to  manipulate,  and  so  are  of  great  service  in  training  the 
childi-en  to  fold  and  fix  without  help. 

T]ie  seam  and  fell  and  the  run  and  fell  naturally  follow 

next.  Before  the  teacher  presents  any 
ment^T  FdS.    definite  plan,  the  childi-en  should  realise  why 

fells  are  needed.  We  will  suppose  therefore 
that  a  class  is  trying  to  arrive  at  a  method  of  dealing  with 
the  raM'  edges  on  the  wrong  side  of  a  seaming  exercise. 
The  children  may  propose  to  fell  each  edge  down  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  seam.  The  teacher  having  illustrated  the 
want  of  strength  in  such  a  plan,  the  next  proposal  may  be 
to  fell  both  edges  down  on  to  the  same  side  of  the  seam. 


542  THE    TEACHING    OF    NEEDLEWORK. 

The  thickness  of  this  fold  would  be  shown.  Then  the 
childi-en  will  see  that  only  one  edge  need  be  folded  twice. 
Now  they  can  understand  why  the  double  fold  is  made  on 
one  piece,  and  the  single  fold  on  the  other.  Too  frequently 
tliis  plan  is  merely  given  as  a  rule  of  thumb  to  the  pupils 
who  do  not  see  its  reason  or  its  piu-pose. 

Another  method  successfully  tried  is  one  which  prevents 
the  common  fault  of  childi-en's  seams  and  fells — the 
raw  edge  of  the  double  fold  protruding  into  the  seaming 
stitches.  Let  the  childi-en  turn  a  deeper  single  fold  on  one 
of  the  pieces  than  upon  the  other.  After  the  seaming  is 
finished  let  them  open  the  pieces  and  arrange  for  a  fell. 
No  double  fold  can  confuse,  and  there  is  no  protruding  of 
raw  edges  in  tliis  method.  The  amount  of  the  deeper 
turning  is  decided  by  comparison  with  a  hem.  In  arrang- 
ing the  fell — which,  even  in  the  ordinary  method,  requires 
careful  readjustment  at  this  stage — after  flattening  down 
the  seam,  lay  the  folds  back  on  each  side  of  it.  Turn  the 
necessary  amount  on  the  deeper  one,  lay  back  this  double 
fold  upon  the  single  turning  and  tack.  This  method  will 
be  employed  later  for  fells  when  machines  are  introduced, 
and  is  therefore  to  be  preferred  to  the  one  described 
above.  The  articles  to  which  the  fells  are  applied  provide 
the  requisite  practice  diu'ing  the  second  year.  Such  are 
pillow-slips,  cooking-sleeves,  pinafores,  and  dolls'  garments. 

Pleating,  making  of  bands,  sewing  on  of  tapes  form  part 

of  the  third  year's  work.     Then   garments 

Preparatory       requiring    these    exercises    can    be    begun. 

ExGTcisGS  for  a.  o 

Garments.  Such  are  the  cooking  and  carpenter  s  aprons, 

the  child's  petticoat  and  bodice,  and  the 
cottage  pinafore.  The  children's  co-operation  will  be  veiy 
helpful  at  this  stage.  Thus,  in  the  pleating  exercise  the 
class  can  detennine  all  the  main  points.  The  material  to 
Avhich  it  is  appropriate,  the  regularity  and  position  of  the 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.  543 

pleatp.  the  ways  of  fixing  can  all  be  discovered  by  the  girls. 
Backstitchiug,  for  the  sewing  ou  of  tapes  and  strengthen- 
ing purposes,  must  be  introduced  now,  but  should  first  be 
taught  on  coarse  material  and  without  the  di-awing  of 
threads. 

Flannel  vests  and  petticoats  for  children  will  form  part  of 

Herring-boning.  *^'®^'*'"'^^'^^'"'^^^^^^^'-  ^«  ^^^  herring- 
bone stitch  which  is  used  for  flannel  material 
requires  considerable  practice,  it  should  be  introduced  if 
possible  in  the  third  year.  The  children  will  readilv  grasp 
its  advantages  for  hems  and  fells  occuiTing  in  woollen  gar- 
ments if  they  are  allowed  to  make  trial  of  the  awkwardness 
which  arises  in  folding  flannel  material.  The  reason  for 
leaving  the  raw  edge,  and  for  securing  it  by  some  deep 
stitch  like  the  herring-bone,  will  at  once  present  itself  to 
them.  The  neatness  of  the  stitch  on  the  right  side,  the 
strength  of  the  cross  stitches,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  prevent  the  edge  from  fraying  are  general  character- 
istics of  herring-boning  which  will  quickly  attract  attention. 
The  stitch  itself  is  somewhat  intricate  in  character,  and  for 
this  reason  it  is  advisable  to  allow  the  girls  to  work  on 
coarse  canvas  for  the  early  practice.  This  preliminary 
canvas  work  is  the  more  justifiable  since  herring-bonino-  is 
also  an  ornamental  stitch.  The  order  of  teaching  will  be 
upon  the  following  lines  : — 

(a)  Each  child  should  be  provided  with  a  partly  finished 
row  of  herring-boning,  for  analytic  pui-poses.  Every  girl 
can  then  find  for  herself  the  necessary  points,  and  the 
difficulty  of  seeing  and  handling  the  teacher's  enlarged 
apparatus  is  removed.  These  specimens  can  be  prepared 
by  a  class  which  akeady  knows  the  stitch,  and  they  are 
very  convenient  whenever  the  analysis  of  the  stitch  to  be 
taught  will  involve  unpicking.  It  is  not  a  wise  plan  to  use 
a  diagram  alone  as  the  basis  of  working  in  this  case,  as  the 


544         THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWOEK. 

coiriplication  of  the  lines  and  cross  stitches  tends  to  confuse 
a  class.  Diagrams  are  often  sufficient,  however,  for  the 
older  children,  as  in  the  case  of  feather-stitching. 
Their  use  trains  the  girls  in  self-reliance  and  lessens 
the  teacher's  work.  For  these  reasons  the  older  pupils 
should  be  encouraged  to  make  frequent  use  of  the 
instructions  and  diagrams  given  in  text-books  on  needle- 
work. 

(&)  The  analysis  of  the  herring-boning  by  the  childi-en 
should  show  how  the  last  stitch  and  the  one  preceding  it 
have  been  produced,  and  should  lead  to  the  next  position 
necessary  for  the  needle.  Then  would  follow  demonstra- 
tion by  the  teacher,  and  revision  by  a  diagram.  In  all 
probability  the  childi-en  woiild  require  to  work  each  step 
simultaneously  with,  the  teacher.  The  counting  of  threads, 
to  which  recoiu-se  must  be  had  at  first,  should  be  quickly 
superseded  by  sight  estimation  of  the  place  at  which  the 
needle  must  be  inserted. 

(c)  The  corners  may  be  taken  next,  and  taught  on  the 
same  analytic  principle  unless  the  children  are  sufficiently 
advanced  to  attempt  the  tui-ning  alone. 

(d)  Lastly  will  come  the  application  to  the  flannel  seams, 
the  new  difficulty  of  the  fold  requiring  care.  Garments 
taken  later  in  the  school  coui-se  will  show  the  use  of  herring- 
boning  for  such  materials  as  velvet  and  heavy  cloths.  Its 
unsuitability  for  a  deep  hem  round  a  skirt,  where  the  per- 
pendicular threads  of  the  material  would  tend  to  di-ag  away 
from  the  horizontal  ones,  should  also  be  understood  before 
the  subject  is  finally  left. 

We  have  now  reached  the  stage  at  which  the  cutting  out 
and  repair  of  garments  will  constitute  an  essential  part  of 
the  coTirse.  As  this  work  introduces  us  at  once  to  the  need 
for  buttonholes  and  for  the  gathering  exercise,  and  as 
these  are  the  chief  stitches  still  requiring  attention,  we  will 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         545 

consider  them  before  passing  on  to  the  above  aspects  of 

needlework. 

Bntton-holes  and  the   button-hole  stitch  necessitate   a 

_  ,  preliminary   discussion   which    will    include 

Button-holes.      ^     ,  /  ,,      n  n      • 

such  questions  as  the  loilowing  : — 

(rt)  The  position  of  button-holes  on  garments  and  their 
advantages  and  disadvantages  as  compared  with  other 
methods  of  fastening,  such  as  hooks  and  eyes,  loops  and 
buttons,  strings. 

(h)  The  nature  of  the  strain  to  which  the  hole  is 
subjected,  its  consequent  direction,  and  the  requirements 
of  a  well-cut  hole. 

(c)  The  peculiarity  of  the  stitch  employed,  which  by 
virtue  of  its  knotted  chain  edge  prevents  the  fraying  of  the 
edge  and  the  wearing  of  the  stitches  by  the  friction  of  the 
button.  The  depth  of  the  stitches,  their  regularity,  and 
the  amount  of  space  allowed  between  them,  must  all  be 
considered  in  their  dependent  relation  to  the  material  upon 
which  the  button-hole  is  to  be  made. 

The  method  of  direct  instruction  mil  be  most  appro- 
priate in  this  case.  By  allowing  at  first  the  use  of  the  folded 
edge  of  coarse  soft  linen  or  cheese  cloth,  the  teacher  will 
minimise  the  children's  difficulty  in  obtaining  regularity  of 
stitch,  and  will  thus  enable  them  to  concentrate  their  atten- 
tion upon  the  knot  formation.  A  clear  diagram  showing 
how  to  place  the  double  cotton  round  the  needle  from  left 
to  right,  if  drawn  before  the  girls,  will  help  them  to  correct 
their  own  mistakes  during  the  practice  work,  and  they 
should  be  required  at  first  to  refer  to  it  constantly.  As 
soon  as  the  stitch  presents  no  fiu*ther  diffictdty,  the  double 
raw  edge  should  be  introduced,  after  which  the  button-hole 
itself  should  be  begun.  The  first  l>utton-holes  shoidd  be 
worked  upon  coarse  material  in  which,  however,  a  hole 
should  always  be  cut. 

PTf     Til  «i" 


546         THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK. 

The  round  and  square  ends  require  careful  treatment. 
Tlie  method  of  discontinuing  the  knotted  edge  so  that  the 
button  may  slip  easily  into  the  corner,  should  be  compared 
with  the  alternative  plan  of  retaining  the  knot  but  lessening 
the  number  of  stitches  made  round  the  end.  The  use  of 
the  stiletto  in  obtaining  a  resting-place  for  the  button  in 
coats  and  jackets  may  be  inferred  by  the  pupils.  In 
the  case  of  the  square  end,  the  way  in  which  the 
bracing  threads  close  the  hole  should  not  be  for- 
gotten. Then  follows  the  working  of  button-holes  upon 
calico  and  other  materials.  The  children  should  cut 
their  own  holes  to  fit  the  size  of  button  set  on.  Later, 
cases  requiring  the  preliminary  overcasting  of  frayed 
edges  will  be  dealt  with,  and  the  girls  will  learn  what 
substances  to  employ  in  button-hohng  on  different  classes 
of  material. 

The   gathering  exercise  is   necessary   for  most  of  the 

garments  the  children  can  make.  The 
The  Gathering  teacher  will  find  that  the  setting-in  of   the 

gathers  presents  the  most  difiiculty.  To 
stroke  them  beforehand  greatly  f aciUtates  the  arrangement 
into  the  band,  and  this  should  be  taught  with  the  help  of 
a  good  diagram.  The  children  must  learn  to  estimate  the 
amount  of  material  suitable  to  given  lengths  of  band  accord- 
ing to  its  nature.  The  exercises  worked  shovJd  require  the 
manipulation  of  gathers  in  contact  with  seams,  hems, 
and  sleeves,  and  the  pupils  should  learn  how  to  slacken 
those  which  adjoin  plain  material.  The  exercises  should, 
therefore,  be  useful  and  possible,  and  may  include  parts 
of  garments  made  half-size,  as,  for  example,  the  strapped 
pinafore  or  the  lower  part  of  a  sleeve.  The  children 
should  also  be  taught  how  to  arrange  gathers  so  as  to 
form  a  heading  when  the  gathers  are  not  to  be  set  into  a 
band. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         547 

5.  The  cutting-out  and  making  of  garments  can  now  be 

carried  on  to  a  greater  extent.     The  work 

and  Slkkig       involves  the  learning  of  given  patterns,  the 

of  Garments,     adaptation  of  these  according  to  individual 

needs,    and   the   invention  of   new  patterns 

and  styles  by  the  children. 

Simple  garments  suitable  for  each  year  are  easy  to  find. 

Scheme  of  ^°^  *^®  ^^^"''^  ^^''"'■'  *^®  cooking  apron,  cook- 

Garments,  ing  sleeves,  child's  petticoat  and  bodice,  flannel 

vest  (to  be  made  up  in  the  fom-th  year), 
cottage  or  slotted  pinafore  are  aU  suitable.  In  the  f mirth 
year,  the  strapped  pinafore,  yoked  pinafore,  children's 
knickerbockers,  or  the  petticoat  with  gathers  may  be 
chosen.  The  fifth  year  may  undertake  the  yoked  overall 
with  sleeves,  simple  blouses,  and  the  gored  petticoat  Avith 
circular  baud.  The  sixth  and  seventh  years  will  pass  on 
to  the  cloth  knickerbockers,  bodices,  night  dresses,  nio-ht 
shirts.  * 

The  di-afting  of  the  pattern  is  the  first  undertaking  in 
Drafting  of  \^®  construction  of  any  garment.  This 
Patterns.  should   be  done   by  the  pupils  from  actual 

measurements  and  observation  of  their  own 
figures.  A  preHmiuary  conversation  between  the  teacher 
and  her  class  concerning  the  purpose  of  the  garment  to  be 
made  should  result  in  the  formation  by  the  girls  of  a 
definite  conception  of  the  shape  and  general  proportions 
necessary.  Before  going  further,  the  girls  should  be  asked 
to  express  this  conception  in  a  di-awing.  Thus,  in  draftino- 
a  yoke  pattern,  after  certain  conclusions  concernino-  the 
purpose  and  shape  of  a  yoke  have  been  reached,  the  pupils 
should  be  required  to  draw  the  essential  features  of  a  yoke 
This  necessitates  the  careful  analysis  of  the  idea  existing 
m  their  mmds,  and  puts  explicitly  before  them  the  end  in 
view. 


548  THE    TEACHING    OP    NEEDLEWORK;. 

After  this  lias  been  doue  the  pattern  must  be  made 
definite  and  valuable  by  being  hmited  to  individual 
measm-ements.  Instruction  in  the  art  of  measuring 
should  take  a  well  defined  place  in  this  branch  of  the 
needlework  syllabus.  The  pupils  should  have  practice  in 
measuring  one  another  and  should  know  the  most  suitable 
points  from  which  to  calculate  their  distances.  It  is  only 
by  such  instruction  that  they  will  be  able  in  later  Hfe  to 
construct  patterns  and  to  alter  bought  patterns.  After 
they  have  decided  upon  the  various  lengths  and  breadths 
requisite  in  any  given  garment  they  should  di"aw 
the  exact  pattern  in  their  books.  In  these  books  notes 
concerning  the  making-up  of  the  garments  should  also  be 
entered.  Sectional  paper  renders  the  drawing  easy,  and 
assists  the  ready  comprehension  of  the  pattern  when 
drawn.  The  pattern  should  always  be  drawn  as  it  would 
be  cut.  Therefore,  if  the  material  can  be  folded  in  order 
to  facilitate  the  cutting,  that  view  is  the  one  which  should 
be  represented. 

After  the  patterns  have  been  drafted,  they  should  be  cut 
out  in  paper  and  then  the  whole  garment  or  parts  of  it 
shoTild  be  cut  out  and  made  up  in  material.  To  prevent 
waste  the  pupils  may  pin  the  paper  pattern  upon  the 
material  and  then  cut.  For  garments  which  do  not 
require  to  fit  exactly  folding  patterns  are  usefiil,  as  the 
position  of  the  vai-ious  curves  and  slopes  can  easily  be 
retained  in  the  memory  by  means  of  the  divisions  upon 
which  they  fall.  The  same  unit  of  folding  should  be  used 
for  all  garments,  however,  or  confusion  may  result.  The 
pupils  should  draft  these  patterns  from  real  measurements 
just  as  in  other  cases,  and  it  should  be  remembered  that 
simplicity  is  the  great  feature  of  these  folding  pat- 
terns. If  that  is  lacking  they  fail  utterly  in  their 
purpose. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         549 

As  a  rule  one  or  t-^o  garments  are  made  up  entirely 
during  a  scliool  year,  whilst  only  the  more 
Garments.  difficult  portions  of  the  others  given  in  the 

scheme  are  made  up  in  material.  It  is 
certainly  wiser,  more  especially  in  the  highest  classes,  to 
take  up  several  garments — comparing  and  correlating  them, 
and  making  up  the  peculiar  parts  of  each — than  to  confine 
the  children  to  the  construction  of  one  elaborate  garment. 
The  whole  garment  should  always  first  be  studied,  however, 
and  it  is  often  helpftd  to  tack  together  the  paper  pattern, 
but  there  should  be  no  detailed  work  in  paper.  Only  after 
the  general  plan  of  the  garment  is  understood  should 
particidar  parts  of  it  be  made  up. 

The  following  exercises  suggest  themselves  in  connection 
with  the  above  syllabus  : — 

The  fifth  year  set  garment  being  the  yoked  overall,  the 
shaped  collar  band  for  a  blouse,  the  circular  band  in  calico, 
the  plaquet  hole  in  flannel,  the  hems  at  the  bottom  of  the 
flannel  petticoat  may  be  practised  in  connection  with  the 
other  garments. 

The  girls  in  the  sixth  year  may  be  making  the  divided 
skirt  and  under-bodice.  The  upper  part  of  the  nightdress, 
the  nightdress  front  opening,  the  gusset  for  the  shirt 
seams,  the  facing  of  garments  would  all  be  suitable  exer- 
cises, and  many  others  may  be  chosen. 

Throughout,  the  work  should  aim  at  preparing  for  the 
dress-making  com*se  in  the  seventh  year  and  the  higher 
school.  In  the  case  of  the  garments  which  are  to  be 
finished  completely  during  the  year,  before  the  pupils 
attack  the  actual  material  they  should  have  practised  the 
parts  presenting  difficulty,  so  that  wastefulness  may  be 
avoided.  No  slipshod  contrivances  should  be  allowed  to 
pass,  yet  each  girl  should  be  entirely  responsible  for  her 
own  work  both  as  regards  the  cutting  and  making. 


550  THE    TEACHING    OF    NEEDLEWORK. 

6.  One  of  the  ways  by  which  it  would  be  possible  to 
have  more  garments  made  dm-ing  the  school 
The  Use  of         course  is  by  the  introduction  of  sewing  ma- 
mJ^SLs.  chines  into  the  upper  classes  of  the  school.  By 

their  help  much  more  work  can  be  accom- 
plished in  the  time,  since  hand  sewing,  except  in  the 
necessary  parts,  can  be  dispensed  with.  The  pupils  would 
also  learn  to  use  the  methods  which  they  will  find  possible 
and  convenient  by  means  of  the  sewing  machine  after 
school  life,  and  this  is  a  great  consideration. 

The  expense  of  the  machines  necessarily  causes  the 
supply  to  be  limited  in  number.  It  is,  therefore,  abso- 
lutely essential  to  sub-divide  the  class  during  the  teaching, 
although  a  certain  amount  of  class  instmction  can  be  given 
by  the  help  of  models  and  drawings  on  such  points  as 
threading  the  needle  and  shuttle.  Generally  speaking, 
however,  the  teacher  will  find  it  necessary  to  demonstrate 
the  various  actions  of  the  machine  to  a  small  number  of 
pupils  at  a  time.  The  other  girls  would  meanwhile  be 
engaged  in  fixing  or  sewing  the  parts  of  the  garments 
which  are  independent  of  the  use  of  the  machine. 

The  individual  practice  by  the  children  upon  the  machine 
should  be  carefully  supervised  in  order  to  prevent  accidents 
to  either  children  or  machine.  At  first  very  unimportant 
articles  such  as  dusters  and  kettle  holders  should  be 
stitched,  so  that  the  girls  may  acquire  control  in  guiding 
the  work.  The  teacher  may  find  it  necessary  to  start 
and  stop  the  machine,  so  that  the  attention  of  the  pupil 
may  be  given  to  the  actual  stitching  until  that  presents 
less  difiiculty. 

If  advantage  be  taken  of  the  opportunities  for  prac- 
tising afforded  in  the  homes  of  many  of  the  girls,  the  task 
will  become  less  arduous  for  the  teacher.  Trustworthy 
girls  who  have  thus  acquired  sufficient  control  in  stitching 


THE  TEACHING  OP  NEEDLEWORK.  551 

by  tlie  sewing  macliine  may  be  allowed  to  supervise  the 
practice  of  the  weaker  members  of  the  class,  and  thus  set 
the  teacher  at  hberty  to  attend  to  the  rest  of  the  pupils. 
There  is  no  reason  also  why  the  girls  of  the  upper  classes 
should  not  stitch  the  longer  seams  and  fells  occurring  in 
the  garments  made  by  the  younger  childi-en,  who  would 
thus  have  more  time  to  devote  to  the  much  more  impoi-tant 
work  of  fixing  and  planning.  The  use  of  the  sewing 
machine  cannot  be  over- valued,  and  this  is  being  more  and 
more  recognised  to-day. 

7.  The  repair  of  clothing  will  naturally  be  considered  as 

the  various  garments  are  undertaken.  It 
Practical  divides  itseK  broadly  into  the  darning  and 

Clothing.  patching  of  worn  goods.     It  is  a  good  plan 

to  encourage  the  bringing  to  school  by  the 
children  of  garments  actually  needing  repair,  as  the 
school  is  thus  brought  into  close  and  helpful  relation  to 
home  life.  If  for  any  reason  this  is  not  thought  practi- 
cable the  teacher  should  at  least  provide  herself  with  some 
gannents  needing  repair.  Often  the  children  can  make  use 
of  the  parts  of  gannents  previously  made  by  them,  if  a 
little  foresight  is  used  by  the  teacher,  and  the  real  difficul- 
ties of  repairing  can  thus  be  dealt  with.  It  is,  however, 
advisable  to  commence  with  such  very  simple  cases  as  the 
square  patch,  and  to  devote  the  first  attention  to  the  general 
principles  involved. 

In  the  first  place,  the  patch  or  darn  must  give  strength. 
Therefore  it  must  be  considerably  larger  than  the  hole,  the 
selvedges  must  concur,  the  material  used  should  be  sHghtly 
worn  and,  if  necessary,  should  first  be  washed  to  prevent 
shrinking,  the  stitch  employed  should  not  be  too  strong 
for  the  worn  garment ;  for  instance,  in  many  cases  it  should 
not  be  seaming.  In  the  case  of  the  dam,  loops  must  be 
left  at  the  ends  of   the  lines   because  of  the  shrinking. 


552        THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWOKK. 

alternate  threads  must  be  taken  because  of  tlio  undue 
strain  otherwise,  and  so,  too,  a  square  shape  is  inadvisable 
since  it  places  all  the  strain  of  the  edge  upon  the  same 
rows  of  weak  threads  in  the  garment:  a  diamond  or 
Vandyke  shape  is  preferable.  Secondly,  the  repair  must 
show  as  httle  as  possible,  and  upon  this  rests  the  choice 
of  material  used,  the  matching  of  the  pattern  and  the 
method  of  working. 

The  single  darn  for  a  weak  place  may  be  taught  in  the 
third  year,  when  flannel  garments  are  intro- 
Suitable  duced.      Though   more   quickly  learned  on 

canvas,  it  should  next  be  apphed  to  flannel 
or  woollen  material.  The  stocking  -web  darn  should  also 
be  applied  in  such  garments  as  vests  and  jerseys.  Stocking 
mending  should  be  a  regular  exercise  in  the  fifth  and  sub- 
sequent years.  The  girls  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  years 
should  learn  how  to  deal  with  hedge  tears,  and  also  to  re- 
pair table  linen.  It  is  undesirable  to  cause  a  great  strain 
upon  the  eyesight,  and  therefore  for  mere  practice  a  very 
coarse  linen  or  Saxony  cloth  may  be  used  in  the  case  of 
the  cross-cut  darn. 

The  patching  of  articles  should  play  a  very  large  part  in  the 
curriculum  of  the  fifth  and  higher  years.  After  the  simple 
square  forms  have  been  mastered,  such  typical  exercises  as 
the  following  are  requisite — sleeves  worn  under  the  arm, 
where  a  shaped  patch  is  necessary,  and  the  seams  and  hems 
must  be  undone  before  the  patch  is  inserted;  knickerbockers 
worn  at  the  knee,  or  gathers  torn  near  the  yoke  of  a  pina- 
fore, where  the  bands  or  yoke  must  be  opened,  the  patch 
placed  in  position  and  inserted,  and  the  gathers  once  more 
set  into  the  band  or  yoke ;  the  pinafore  torn  at  the  corner ; 
torn  buttonholes,  and  other  cases  requiring  a  modification 
of  the  simple  forms  already  taught.  The  repairing  of 
dresses,  coats,   trousers,   should   also   be   studied   in  the 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         553 

highest  class.  Throughout,  the  teacher  should  not  be  satis- 
fied with  merely  teaching  one  method.  The  condition  of  the 
garment  determines  the  amount  of  labour  which  should  be 
expended  upon  it,  and  therefore  economy  of  time  must 
modify  the  elaborateness  of  the  method. 

No  part  of  the  needlework  course  has  a  closer  relation 
to  the  girl's  home  life  than  this  of  repairing,  provided 
always  that  teachers  interpret  it  in  its  broadest  aspect. 
Throughout,  the  pupils  must  be  encouraged  to  seek  for 
methods  by  themselves  rather  than  required  to  imitate 
those  of  the  teacher,  for  no  amount  of  school  instruction  can 
cover  the  innumerable  forms  in  which  the  need  for  repairs 
may  present  itself.  The  school  can  only  hope  to  establish 
a  fomidation  of  general  principles  upon  which  the  girl  may 
base  her  efforts  both  now  and  in  later  life. 

8.  So  far  knitting  has  not  been  considered,  though  it  is 

.    .  still  generally  taught  in  spite  of  the  inroads  of 

machine  knitting  vipon  the  hand  craft.  As 
a  rule,  knitting  processes  lie  outside  the  inventive  powers 
of  the  children.  Therefore  direct  imitation  of  the  teacher's 
instruction  must  be  the  ordinary  form  of  instruction.  As 
in  the  case  of  all  the  preceding  exercises,  the  application  of 
the  knowledge  gained  to  actual  garments  should  be  the  aim. 

Up  to  the  close  of  the  second  year,  plain  and  purl  knitting 
and  their  use  for  such  things  as  scarves,  cuffs,  children's 
reins  will  occupy  all  the  childi'en's  time.  In  the  third  year, 
when  the  manipulation  of  the  four  needles  is  not  too  diffi- 
cult for  the  girls,  the  stocking  may  be  begun.  The  various 
exercises  concerned  in  its  construction  will  be  mastered  in 
the  fifth  year,  when  the  girls  should  be  able  to  make  a 
complete  stocking.  The  intakes  at  the  back  of  the  stocking 
present  no  difficulty  and  can  easily  be  suggested  by  the 
children.  So  too,  when  the  method  of  turning  the  heel 
has  been  taught,  that  of  taking  off  the  toe  of  the  foot 


554         THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK. 

should  be  readily  suggested  by  the  girls,  who  can  locate 
the  places  for  the  decreasings  and  determine  the  number  of 
rounds  which  should  be  made  between  each  set  of  de- 
creasings. Vests,  gloves,  and  in  the  highest  classes  the 
knitting  of  lace,  can  all  be  introduced  into  the  course. 

Demonstration  for  knitting  is  rendered  much  easier  for 
the  teacher  by  the  use  of  very  large  wooden  needles  and 
coarse  wool.  This  apparatus  decreases  greatly  the  amount 
of  individual  help  which  would  otherwise  be  necessary.  The 
value  of  clear  diagrams  is  also  considerable,  and  it  should  be 
remembered  that  these  are  more  effective  if  drawn  during 
the  lesson.  The  girls  are  then  able  to  follow,  and  sometimes 
to  assist  in,  the  construction  of  the  di-awing,  and  they  more 
readily  appreciate  its  reference  when  it  is  built  up  by 
comparison  with  a  process  which  they  have  just  witnessed. 
For  some  of  the  more  intricate  exercises  permanent  dia- 
grams should  be  provided  by  the  school.  The  making  of 
the  plain  and  purl  knitting  stitches,  the  joining  of  wool,  the 
arrangement  of  the  stitches  and  location  of  the  narrowings 
when  turning  the  heel  and  taking  off  the  toe  can  all  be 
clearly  illustrated  by  diagrams. 

An  exercise  which  should  not  be  omitted  from  the 
teaching  of  knitting  is  that  which  involves  the  picking  up 
of  stitches  which  have  dropped  from  the  needle.  Also  the 
neat  process  of  grafting  oft"  the  final  stitches  of  the  foot  of 
the  stocking  deserves  to  be  more  widely  taught  than  is 
usual.  It  prevents  any  hard  ridge  or  lump,  being  in 
reahty  a  continuation  of  the  knitting  stitches.  If  practised 
in  the  first  place  upon  stocking-web  material  it  is  quite 
simple  enough  for  the  elder  girls. 

Finally,  the  use  of  hard  knitting  cotton  is  greatly  to  be 
deprecated.  Soft,  firm,  pliable  wool  should  alone  be  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  younger  children  at  least. 

9.  In  conclusion  we  would  once  more  urge  upon  the 


THE  TEACHING  OF  NEEDLEWORK.         555 

teacher  the  necessity  of  imbuing  her  pupils  with  a  sense 

of  the  importance  attaching  to  the   study   and   practice 

_,      ,    .  of  needlework.     The  influence  of  the  work 

ConclusioiL         T  . 

done    during    the    girl  s    school    life    upon 

the  attitude  which  she  will  adopt  later  towards  a  craft 
which  is  essential  in  every  grade  of  society,  cannot  be 
over-estimated.  Therefore  the  teacher  should  reahse  to 
the  full  the  necessity  for  such  a  choice  of  subject-matter 
as  will  bring  the  girl  at  once  into  touch  with  the  pressing 
needs  of  life. 

Thus,  and  thus  only,  will  ignorance  and  improvidence  in 
the  matter  of  making  and  repairing  clothes  be  super- 
seded by  economy,  foresight  and  slcilful  adaptation  of 
method  according  to  the  demands  of  circumstances.  For 
it  should  be  remembered  that  the  methods  which  are 
taught  in  school  will  not  be  limited  in  theu-  applica- 
tion to  the  present  age.  Provided  only  that  the  pupil 
finds  those  methods  applicable  in  actual  practice,  they  will, 
by  the  agency  of  family  life,  be  passed  on  through  succeed- 
ing generations  in  forms  modified  by  the  new  requirements 
of  new  times.  It  is  because  needlework  has  such  a  uni- 
versal bearing  upon  life  in  all  ages  and  at  all  times  that  it 
is  assigned  a  place  in  the  cui-riculum  of  the  school.  There- 
fore the  teacher  should  always  approach  with  earnestness 
and  careful  consideration  a  subject  which  under  an  un- 
assmning  guise  yet  plays  so  valuable  a  part  in  human 
life,  for 

"Till  the  world  be  quite  dissolv'd  and  past 
So  long  at  least  the  needle's  use  shall  last."  > 


1  John  Taylor,  The  Praise  of  the  Needle. 


556  THE    TEACHING    OF    NEEDLEWORK. 

The  following  books  are  recommended  to  the  teacher  : — 

1  Agnes  Walker:  Needlework  and  Cutting 

Qut  5/-    (Blackie  &  Son). 

Elizabeth     Roseveas  :      Text -Book     of 

Needlework,    Knitting,    and    Cutting 

Out  ...         ...         •••         •••         ■■•     6/-  (Macmillan&Co. ). 

Bradley  :  The  Teaching  of  Needlework  ...     1/6  (Clive). 
Fanny  Heath  :  Pattern  IVIaking  by  Paper 

Folding      "^A   (Longmans, 

Green,  &  Co). 
Bertha  Banner  :   Manual  on  the  Cutting 

Out  of  Undergarments Id.  (Longmans, 

Green,  &  Co.). 


'  Specially  recommended  for  diagrams. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  MODERN  LANGUAGES. 
I. 

1.  The  infant  setting  forth  upon  the  conquest  of  its  own 
language  has  practically  unlimited  time  at 
Instnict^on  ^^^  disposal,  and  what  it  learns  is  primarily 
determined  by  immediate  personal  needs. 
This  is  far  from  being  the  case  when  the  same  child 
approaches  the  study  of  a  foreign  language  as  part  of  the 
school  curriculimi.-  The  time  being  limited  to  a  few  hours 
a  week,  and  there  being  no  self-imposed  principle  of  selec- 
tion, it  becomes  necessary  to  have  some  standard  by  which 
to  determine  both  the  kind  of  subject-matter  best  chosen 
from  the  vast  store  available  and  the  relative  importance 
to  be  attached  to  the  spoken  and  written  language.  The 
standard  is  supplied  by  the  objects  we  have  in  view  in 
teaching  a  foreign  language  as  a  school  subject.  What 
subserves  them  is  alone  essential.  What  does  not  may  be 
rejected. 

The  inquiry  into  objects  is  limited  by  the  fact 
that  we  are  here  concerned  with  foreign  language 
teaching  solely  as  part  of  the  education,  elementary  and 
secondary,  which  seeks  to  provide  a  general  preparation 
for  life  as  a  Avhole  as  distinguished  from  the  technical 
instruction  which  aims  at  giving  efficiency  in  some  special 
calling,  whether  industrial,  scientific,  professional,  or  other. 

^ByF.  B.  Kirkraan,  B.A. 

-  The  term  foreign  will  tln-oughout  this  essay,  unless  otherwise 
indicated,  be  held  to  mean /orez^/i  modern, 

557 


558  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

It  is  limited  further  by  tlie  nature  of  the  subject  itself. 
One  cannot  get  out  of  it  what  it  has  not  to  give.  Nor  is 
it  important  that  we  should  utilise  it  for  purposes  that  can 
equally  well  be  achieved  by  means  of  other  subjects.  The 
question,  thus  limited,  may  be  stated  as  follows  :  What  is 
there  of  value  for  the  purposes  of  a  general  education  which 
can  hest  he  secured  only  by  means  of  one  or  other  of  the 
foreign  languages  that  have  a  recognised  place  in  the  curri- 
culum ? 

A  foreign  language  provides,  in  the  first  place,  the  key 
that  unlocks  the  literary  treasure-house  of 
(i)  A  Means      ij^g  nation  that  speaks  it,  and  it  is  the  only 
Culture.  key  that  fits.     A  good  translation  will  always 

suffice  to  convey  adequately  enough  for 
practical  purposes  the  thought  contained  in  a  foreign 
masterpiece,  whether  prose  or  poetry,  but  what  makes  a 
literary  work  of  art  is  not  the  thought  but  the  quality  of 
the  form  in  which  it  is  cast.  The  same  thought,  this  word 
being  used  in  its  broadest  sense  to  mean  anything  from  the 
mental  vision  of  a  sunset  to  the  most  abstract  definition, 
may  in  one  and  the  same  language  be  expressed  in  different 
ways.  Whether  the  result  is  a  work  of  art  or  not  depends 
entirely  xipon  the  degree  of  perfection  in  expression  that  is 
attained.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  two  following 
lines  of  poetry,^  which  mean  precisely  the  same  thing,  and 
are  equally  clear  though  not  equally  beautiful : 

"But  where  are  the  snows  of  yesteryear?" — Rossetti. 

"But  what  has  become  of  last  year's  snow  ? " — Payne. 

1  For  this  illustration  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Francis  Storr,  who 
used  it  with  effect  in  his  x^residential  address  on  the  Art  of  Transla- 
tion delivered  January  7th,  1908,  to  the  Modern  Language  Asso- 
ciation. The  address  will  be  found  published  in  the  monthly  organ 
of  the  Association,  Modern  La7iguage  Teaching,  Vol.  4,  No.  1 
(A.  and  C.  Black),  and  it  will  amply  repay  careful  reading. 


OBJECTS    OF    INSTRUCTION.  559 

A  comparison  of  Eossetti's  famous  line  with  its  no  less 
famous  original  in  Villon's  Ballade  des  Barnes  du  temps  jadis 
will  show,  further,  how  nearly  the  quality  of  the  fonn  may 
be  translated  from  one  idiom  into  another  : 

"  Mais  oil  sont  les  neiges  d'antan  ? " 

Speaking  generally,  however,  it  is  as  impossible  to  render 
into  an  alien  tongue  what  is  called  the  genius  of  a  language 
as  it  would  be  to  convert  a  typical  member  of  the  London 
police  force  into  a  typical  French  sergent  de  ville  by 
putting  a  Tcepi  on  his  head,  a  sword  at  liis  side,  and 
cutting  his  hair  en  hrosse.  The  explanation  lies  not  so 
much  in  the  fact  that  the  sum  of  the  meanings  of  a  word 
m  one  language,  and  consequently  its  associations,  may 
only  partly  coincide  with  those  of  the  corresponding  word 
in  another,  but  rather  in  the  natm*e  of  speech  itself. 
Speech  consists  primarily  of  sounds,  and  it  is  upon  the 
rhythmic  quahties  of  the  sounds  that  the  beauty  of  a  verse 
or  of  a  prose  period  chiefly  depends.  Let  us  take  as  an 
example  the  well-known  lines  of  Verlaine : 

' '  Les  sanglots  longs 
De  I'automne 
Blessent  mon  cwur 
D'une  langueur 
Monotone."' 

Here  the  idea  and  its  associations  are  possibly  translat- 
able. What  is  not,  is  the  subtle  symphony  created  by  the 
harmonious  alliteration  of  vowel  soimds.  A  translation, 
therefore,  though  it  may  be  a  work  of  art  equal  to  or  even 
greater  than  the  original,  differs  from  the  latter  just  as 
a  great  musical  composition  played  on  the  piano  differs 
from  the  same  rendered  by  an  orchestra.  And  tliis  differ- 
ence is  accentuated  when  the  translation  is  inferior.  For 
the  piano  we  have  then  to  substitute  a  penny  whistle. 


560  THE    TEACHIN*"}    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

But  even  supposing  that  a  perfect  translation  sufficed  to 
reproduce  the  full  savour  of  the  original,  we  should  still 
be  shut  out  from  access  to  the  greater  part  of  a  foreign 
literature  for  the  simple  but  adequate  reason  that  a  perfect 
translator  must  himself  be  a  master- worker  in  words.  And 
master- workers  of  any  sort  are  rare. 

The  command  of  a  nation's  language  is,  therefore,  indis- 
pensable to  a  full  appreciation  of  its  literature.  The  labour 
involved  in  gaining  this  command  is  the  price  that  must  be 
paid  if  modern  literary  culture  is  to  be  extended  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  mother  tongue.  By  culture  is  here  meant 
the  training  that  enables  us  to  distinguish  the  Beautifiil  in 
prose  and  poetry  from  the  Ugly,  and  makes  us  find  satis- 
faction only  in  the  former.  It  is  part  of  the  general 
training  in  what  may  briefly  be  described  as  good  taste, 
and  so  subserves  in  no  mean  degree  the  genei*al  ethical 
ends  of  education. 

It  should  be  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  to  insist  on 
the  fact  that  it  is  the  perfection  of  the  form  which  makes 
a  literary  work  of  art  does  not  at  all  diminish  the  value 
that  shoidd  be  set  upon  the  quality  of  tlie  content.  Un- 
worthy content  does  not  become  any  the  more  worthy, 
as  content,  because  it  is  expressed  in  style  that  is  irre- 
proachable. 

The  foreign  language  is,  again,  the  key  to  much  informa- 
tion, scientific  and  other,  necessary  to  those 
(ii)  ASoxirce  engaged  either  in  the  pursuit  of  fresh 
Information.  knowledge  or  in  applying  it  to  practical 
needs.  The  historian,  for  example,  can  study 
no  epoch  of  history  which  does  not  exact  acquaintance  with 
the  results  of  recent  research  abroad.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  scientist,  the  philosopher,  the  teacher.  As  the  neces- 
sary information  is  to  be  foimd  in  the  pages  of  books  and 
current  periodicals,  rarely  translated  or  even  adequately 


OBJECTS    OF    INSTRUCTION.  561 

noticed,  the  obligation  to  read  them  in  the  original  can 
seldom  be  avoided.  Though  it  is  no  part  of  the  function 
of  a  general  education  to  teach  the  technical  vocabulary 
required  for  the  understanding  of  works  of  this  nature,  it 
should,  within  the  limits  possible,  supply  at  least  the 
necessary  basis.  To  leave  the  specialist  to  encounter  the 
initial  difficulties  of  a  foreign  speech,  after  the  school  period, 
is  to  inflict  upon  him  an  unnecessary  hardship,  for  children 
undoubtedly  possess  a  facility  in  acquii-ing  a  new  tongue 
that  is  diminished  in  adult  years.  The  following  quotation 
from  a  presidential  address  of  Mr.  Alex  Hill  (late  Master 
of  Downing  College,  Cambridge)  to  the  Teachers'  Guild  is 
well  worth  quoting  in  this  connection : 

"Is  it  fair  to  leave  a  man  to  learn  German  in  adult  life?  Con- 
stantly I  find  the  best  of  our  Cambridge  students,  often  when 
in  their  final  year — at  a  time  when  they  hardly  dare  to  raise  their 
eyes  for  a  moment  from  the  special  subjects  which  they  are  pre- 
paring for  the  Second  Part  of  the  Tripos — studying  German  in 
order  that  they  may  gamer  the  ripest  wisdom  of  our  learned 
neighbours.  Their  schoolmasters,  with  almost  Satanic  irony,  have 
equipped  them — it  is  of  our  ablest  students  that  I  am  now  speaking 
— with  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  language  in  which  learning 
expressed  itself  three  hundred  years  ago  and  have  left  them  com- 
pletely ignorant  of  the  language  which,  in  theology,  in  law,  in 
history,  in  economics,  in  natural  science,  embodies  the  most  prolific 
output  at  the  present  day.  It  is  especially'  amongst  men  who  devote 
their  lives  to  natm-al  science  that  illustrations  are  to  be  found  of 
the  acquisition  of  German  in  adult  life.  I  know  something  of  the 
eifort  which  it  costs  and  of  the  permanent  unhandiness  of  the 
language  when  it  has  been  acqiiired." 

Until  some  one  international  speech  finds  general  accept- 
ance, a  foreign  language  will  continue  to  be 

(iii)  A  Means  ^  means  of  communication  indispensable  not 
of  Communi-  ,      ,  ,   .  ^  .   , 

cation.  ^^\^'  *^  many  engaged  m  commerce  and  in- 

dustry, or  travelling  for  pleasure,  but  also  to 
the  class  referred  to  in  the  preceding  paragraph.     But, 
PR.  TG.  36 


562  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

once  more,  it  is  not  tlie  function  of  a  general  education  to 

teach  the  technical  vocabulary  required  for  such  pursuits  ; 

it  can  only  be  expected  to  supply  the  necessary  groundwork. 

In  the  case  of  those  travelling  for  pleasui-e   no    special 

instruction  is  needed.     Any  person  efficiently  grounded  can 

easily  pick  up  en  route  from  a  good  conversation  dictionary 

the  necessary  '  courrier '  vocabulary.      By  learning  it  for 

immediate  use  he  will  learn  it  in  the  best  possible  way. 

A  fvu'ther  reason  commonly  given  for  teaching  a  foreign 

language  is  that  it  supphes  the  best  introdue- 

(iv)  A  Means     tion  to  a  deeper  understanding  of  a  foreign 

of  Promoting      nation's  character  and  achievements  as  shown 
International  .      ,  .  -,.  ,    •     ,-,    i-  i 

Good-will.  m  its  history,  literature,  art,  institutions,  and 

customs.  This  knowledge,  it  is  held,  tends 
to  weaken  national  prejudices  in  favour  of  the  good- will 
that  alone  renders  possible  the  exercise  of  sound  judgment 
on  international  matters.  It  may  well  be  conceded  that 
knowledge  of  a  foreign  nation's  achievements,  and  recog- 
nition of  the  fact  that  its  institutions  and  customs  may 
differ  from  our  own,  without  being  any  the  worse,  must  of 
themselves  help  to  undennine  the  queer  conceit  that  mea- 
sures everything  by  native  standards  of  value.'  And  no 
profound  study  of  another  people's  character  is  required 
to  dispel  venerable  illusions  of  the  kind  typified  by  the 
common  school-boy  notion  of  the  Frenclmian  as  a  weak- 
kneed  creature  of  uncertain  neiwes,  which  finds  incisive,  if 
untutored  expression,  in  the  following  statement  by  a  local 
examination  candidate :  "  On  ne  joue  pas  {\  Football  en 
France  parce  qu'il  y  est  une  grand  eterreur." 

^  "II  est  bon  de  savoir  quelquechose  des  mceurs  do  divers  peuples, 
afin  de  juger  des  notres  plus  sainement,  et  que  nous  ne  pensions  pas 
que  tout  ce  qui  est  contre  nos  modes  soit  ridicule  et  contre  raison, 
ainsi  qu'ont  coutunie  de  faire  cenx  qui  n'ont  rien  vu." — Descartes  : 
Discoura  de  la  Methode. 


OBJECTS    OF    INSTRUCTION.  563 

Mutual  knowledge  deep  enough  to  be  the  basis  of  an 
estimate  of  character  in  which  merits  and  defects  can  be 
justly  balanced  is  undoubtedly  the  first  condition  of 
genuine  respect  in  the  case  of  nations  as  of  individuals. 
But  this  being  so,  are  we  not  in  danger  of  concentrating 
the  good-will  of  our  pupils  upon  the  one  or  two  nations 
whose  language  and  literature  we  teach  ?  Or  may  we 
hope  that  familiarity  with  the  character  and  achieve- 
ments of  one  nation  will  sufiice  to  obviate  rash  preconcep- 
tions about  others  ?  The  answer  will  probably  be  found  in 
the  personal  influence  exercised  by  the  teacher. 

Admitting  that  accurate  information  about  even  one 
foreign  nation  will  help  to  weaken  insular  prejudice,  we 
have  still  to  recognise  that  something  more  than  this  is 
needed.  The  most  generous  inclination  to  be  fair  in  one's 
dealings  with  the  foreigner  does  not  of  itself  give  wisdom 
when  it  comes  to  the  practical  question  of  deciding  what 
course  of  political  action  to  favour.  Sound  political  judg- 
ment can  only  be  the  result  of  exercise  in  correct  thinking 
about  poHtics,  past  or  present.  To  give  this  exercise,  at 
least  in  so  far  as  concerns  past  politics,  should  be  the  func- 
tion of  historical  instruction  and  not  of  the  language 
lesson.'  All  the  foreign  language  teacher  can  be  expected 
to  do  is  to  create  in  his  pupil  the  right  mental  attitude,  the 
desire  to  be  just. 

When,  bearing  in  mind  the  general  question  at  the 
beginning  of  this  inquiry,  we  next  proceed  to  ask  whether 
the  necessary  knowledge  of  the  foreign  nation  is  to  be 
secured  only  by  the  mastery  of  its  language,  the  answer 
must  be  negative,  except  in  so  far  as  the  foreign  language 
itself,  considered  apart  from  its  content,  may  be  regarded 

'  For  the  correlation  of  English  and  Foreign  History,  and  both 
with  Geography,  see  Ch.  X.,  §§  3-6  ;  Ch.  XL,  §§  2,  3,  7,  13. 


564l  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

as  au  index  to  the  character  of  the  uatiou  speaking  it,  and 
this  is  a  factor  that  for  the  purposes  of  the  present  inquiry 
need  not  be  insisted  upon.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  the 
best  account  of  a  foreign  nation's  character  and  achieve- 
ments could  be  written  by  a  cultured  Anglo-Saxon,  or, 
failing  this,  might  be  found  in  the  translation  of  some 
foreign  work.  But,  in  practice,  it  is  certain  that  unless 
the  information  in  question  were  given  in  the  hours 
allotted  to  the  foreign  language,  it  would  find  no  place  at 
all  in  the  curriculum  outside  the  limited  amount  that 
could  be  assigned  to  it  in  the  lessons  on  history.  We  are 
justified,  therefore,  in  regarding  it  as  one  of  the  functions 
of  foreign  language  instruction  to  give  some  account  of  the 
foreign  nation,  more  particularly  of  those  of  its  activities 
which  would  not  otherwise  receive  adequate  attention  :  its 
institutions,  customs,  arts. 

Study  of  a  foreign  language,  in  this  case  ancient  as  well 

as  modern,  supplies,  lastly,  the  sole  means  of 
(v)  A  Means  gaining  what  mental  discipline  there  is  to  be 
Disciplined         found   in  translating  from  one  speech  into 

another.  We  are  here  concerned  with  trans- 
lation considered  as  a  fine  art,  and  not  as  a  means  of 
making  clear  the  sense  of  words  or  of  testing  results. 
Even  if  we  decide  that  as  a  fine  art  it  has  no  disciplinary 
value  worth  taking  into  account,  its  use  as  a  method  ^\dll 
still  remain  to  be  considered. 

What  then  has  translation,  whether  from  or  into  the  foreign 
tongue,  to  offer  us  of  value  for  the  purposes  of  a  general 
education  which  cannot  equally  well  be  seciired  by  other 
means  ?  And  to  begin  with,  what  are  the  essential  processes 
involved  in  translating  ?     Let  us  take  a  practical  example : 

La  poesie  ne  manque  jamais  de  refleurir  quancl  reverdit  la  langue. 
The   rendering   of   the   first   words,    Poetry   never  fails 


OBJECTS    OF    INSTRUCTION.  565 

.  .  . ,  aud  of  tlie  last,  language,  presents  no  diflicvilties ; 
it  has  consequently  no  value  for  mental  discipline.  At  the 
words  rejieurir,  reverdir  we  pause.  Their  literal  meaning 
is  clear  enough,  but  does  not  satisfy  the  context.  At  this 
point  it  will  be  noted  that,  having  grasped  the  gist  of  the  sen- 
tence, the  mind  no  longer  concerns  itself  with  the  French ; 
its  attention  is  directed  exclusively  to  finding  the  English 
expression  which  accords  best  not  only  with  the  subject 
Poetry,  but  also  with  the  rhythmic  and  metaphorical 
requirements  of  the  English  sentence  as  a  whole.  Here 
the  metaphorical  requirements  are  particularly  exacting, 
for  the  expressions  to  flower  again,  to  hecome  green  again 
place  poetry  and  language  in  the  relationship  of  flower 
and  plant.  If  the  reader  will  seek  a  rendering  that 
conveys  this  relationsliip,  he  will  understand  better  than 
from  a  volume  of  explanation  wherein  lies  the  chief 
difficulty  of  translation  as  a  fine  art.^ 

The  foregoing  analysis  illustrates  sufficiently  the  two 
essential  and,  in  their  nature,  quite  distinct  processes 
involved  in  all  translation  worthy  of  the  name :  (a)  pene- 
trating the  exact  sense  of  a  given  passage  in  one  idiom, 
a  task  which  often  presents  considerable  difficulties ;  (6) 
giving  to  this  sense  appropriate  expression  in  another 
idiom,  the  first  condition  of  success  being  that  the  transla- 
tion should  not  be  recognisable  as  such. 

!N"ow  neither  of  these  processes  is  peculiar  to  translation. 
The  first  is  necessary  in  any  eifort  to  understand,  without 
translation,    the    sense    of    a    passage,    whatever    be    the 

'  The  rendering  given  in  tlie  prize  translation  of  tlie  Journal  of 
Education,  July  1908,  was  "Poetry  never  fails  to  put  forth  new 
blossoms  when  language  receives  new  life,"  which  is  scarcely 
adequate,  the  rhythm  being  defective,  and  the  translation  of 
rei^erdir  reminding  us  rather  of  a  resurrection  than  a  renewal 
of  sap. 


666  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

language  in  wliicli  it  is  expressed.  And  the  embodiment 
of  thought  in  appropriate  form  is  the  object  of  all 
literary  composition,  whether  in  the  native  tongue  or  in 
another. 

It  may  be  iirged  that  translation  involves  a  third  process 
having  value  for  mental  discipline  :  the  comparative  study 
of  two  idioms.  It  does  so  only  in  a  very  incomplete  form. 
The  translator,  as  such,  is  only  concerned  to  substitute  for 
a  given  expi'ession  in  one  idiom  the  nearest  equivalent  in 
another  idiom  that  happens  to  he  demanded  by  a  particular 
context,  and,  in  perhaps  the  large  majority  of  cases,  this 
involves  no  effort  beyond  the  mechanical  operation  of 
turning  over  the  pages  of  a  dictionary.  Nothing  compels 
liim  to  complete  the  comparison  by  finding  out  all  the 
points  of  resemblance  and  difference  in  sense  that  may 
exist  between  the  two  forms  in  Cjuestion.  For  instance,  the 
reader  of  these  pages  may  or  may  not  have  noted  that  the 
word  Jangue  in  the  above  example,  having  to  be  translated 
by  language,  does  not  correspond  in  the  aggregate  of  its 
meanings  to  the  corresponding  word  tongue,  but  the  recjuire- 
ments  of  the  translation  do  not  oblige  him  to  go  a  step 
ftu-ther  and  institute  a  complete  comparison  between  their 
respective  connotations.  Or  to  take  another  example. 
Meeting  with  the  word  riviere  he  will  translate  by  river. 
Nothing  compels  him  to  define  the  limited  correspondence 
between  the  two  words.  Whether  or  not  this  more  com- 
plete comparison  has  special  value  for  mental  discipline, 
apart  from  its  use  as  a  method  of  instruction,  is  a 
question  that  must  be  discussed  on  its  own  merits,  if 
worth  discussing  at  all. 

The  only  important  difference,  for  mental  discipline, 
between  translation  and  original  composition  is  that  in  the 
latter  case  both  ideas  and  words  have  to  be  found  by  the 
writer,  whereas  in  translation  the  ideas  are  given.     They 


OBJECTS    OP    INSTRUCTION.  567 

cannot  be  modified  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  a  limited 
vocabulary ;  the  sense  being  fixed,  the  appropriate  wording 
must  be  found.  It  is  true  that  in  paraphrasing  in  English, 
say  a  passage  of  Shal^espeare,  the  content  is  likewise  rigidly 
fixed.  But  paraphrasing  provides  no  exercise  in  the  choice 
of  the  fittest  word  and  best  construction ;  both  are  given 
by  the  original.  Paraphrasing  an  Enghsh  masterpiece 
means  turnmg  good  into  less  good.  It  has  no  value  as  an 
exercise  in  style,  but  is  simply  a  means  of  ensuring  that 
the  reader  has  grasped  the  sense. 

Translation  has,  therefore,  a  claim  to  be  regarded  as  a 
valuable  exercise  in  the  art  of  literary  expression,  but  in  so 
far  only  as  this  means  nice  discrimination  in  the  choice  of 
words  and  skill  in  the  making  of  well-balanced  periods.  It 
cannot  fairly  be  credited  with  more  than  this.  It  does  not 
demand  the  kind  of  thinking  required  in  original  composi- 
tion, it  directs  attention  almost  exclusively  to  the  form, 
and  more  particulaa-ly  to  the  choice  and  arrangement  of 
words  in  the  sentence ;  it  is,  in  short,  an  exercise  in  con- 
struction. It  gives  no  practical  training  in  the  art  of  arrano-. 
mg  paragraphs  or  chapters  so  as  to  form  an  organic  whole 
fitly  adjusted  in  all  its  parts.  Yet  this  is  an  equally 
important  element  in  literary  discipline,  and  it  is  precisely 
their  clear  recognition  of  the  fact  that  makes  the  French 
excel  us  as  teachei-s  of  composition  and  justifies  the  claim 
that  their  prose  maintains  a  higher  average  of  excellence 
than  any  other  of  modern  times. 

Further,  it  seems  necessary  to  insist  that,  though  trans- 
lation  supplies  an  excellent  discipline  in  the  limited  par- 
ticular  sense  above  described,  the  statement  that  it  gives 
an  unsurpassed  mental  discipline  in  a  wider  sense  will  not 
bear  examination.  Tlie  notion,  for  instance,  that  the 
special  training  in  literary  precision,  which  careful transla- 
tion  confers,  helps  to  create  or  improve  some   assumed 


668  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

general  faculty  of  precisiou  is  one  that  receives  no  sanction 
either  from  modern  psychology  or  daily  experience.  The 
most  exact  translator  may,  and  often  does,  display  gross 
habitual  carelessness  when  engaged  in  other  activities, 
being  in  this  respect  no  better  and  no  worse  than,  say,  the 
specialist  in  philology  or  natural  science  who,  in  discussing 
matters  outside  his  own  province,  will  often  manifest 
a  callous  indifference  to  those  very  canons  of  scientific 
method  that  he  so  rigidly  observes  in  his  professional 
studies. 

There  are,  then,  certain  objects  of  admitted  educational 

value  which  can  best  be  reaUsed  only  by 
o7oWe^^^    means  of  a  modern  foreign   language,  and 

have  on  that  account  first  claim  upon  oiu" 
attention.  These  are  to  give  ova-  pupils  (1)  the  ability  and 
the  desire  to  enter  into  possession  of  the  literary  heritage 
of  at  least  one  great  modern  nation  beside  their  own; 
(2)  a  means  of  communication  with  foreigners,  and  also  a 
means  of  access  to  information,  scientific  or  other,  that 
may  prove  indispensable  in  later  life,  it  being  understood, 
however,  that  it  is  the  function  of  a  general  education  to 
lay  only  the  foundations  upon  which  any  such  form  of 
specialised  linguistic  instruction  may  afterwards  rapidly 
and  efiiciently  be  built ;  (3)  a  knowledge  of  the  character  and 
achievements  of  one  or  two  modern  foreign  nations  ample 
and  accurate  enough,  when  aided  by  the  personal  influence 
of  the  teacher,  to  inspire  not  only  feelings  of  respect  and 
good- will  for  the  particular  nation  in  question,  but  a  desire 
to  be  just,  both  in  thought  and  act,  towards  any  foreign 
nation  whatever.  To  these  three  can  be  added  a  fourth, 
which  may  equally  well  be  acliieved  tlirough  the  medium 
of  Latin  or  Greek :  to  give  the  literary  disciphne,  in  the 
restricted  sense  above  defined,  that  is  supplied  by  trans- 
lation as  a  fine  art.     It  may  be  noted  that  the  last  object 


KINDS    OP    LINOtriSTIC    ATTAINMENT.  569 

acquires  special  importance  in  the  case  of  pupils  to  wlioni 
no  ancient  language  is  tauglit. 

To  the  above  objects  others  may  be  added,  but  it  will  no 
doubt  be  conceded  by  most  that  this  would  be  a  work  of 
supererogation,  a  piling  of  Pelion  upon  Ossa.  The  teacher 
who  sends  forth  pupils  of  average  ability,  keen  to  satisfy  a 
cultm-ed  and  genuine  taste  for  French  and  German  master- 
pieces, possessed  of  a  finn  enough  grasp  of  the  language  to 
make  further  progress  in  any  du-ection  easy  and  pleasant, 
and  imbued  with  the  feeling  that  the  foreigner  is  none  the 
less  "  a  man  for  a'  that,"  will  have  good  reason  to  be  satis- 
fied, for  he  will  have  acliieved  sometliing  outside  the 
common. 

2.  Wben  we  pass  from  the  objects  to  consider  the  kind 

of  attainment  they  demand  for  their  realisa- 

ImT«)rtance  of    ^^^^'  ^^  becomes  at  once  apparent  that  facility 

the  Kinds  of       in  understanding  the  written  languages  is  of 

Linguistic  paramount  importance.     Without  it  not  one 

Attainment.  p      .         ,  .  ,  t  •        t       mi         i 

01    the    objects   can    be   achieved.     Though 

skill  in  wi-iting  the  language  is  needed  in  the  case  of  the 
thii'd  (Communication)  and  fifth  (Literaiy  discipline),  this 
attainment  is  relatively  of  small  consequence.  Speaking 
the  language  and  understanding  it  when  spoken  are  de- 
manded only  by  the  third,  a  fact  wliich,  of  course,  in  no 
way  detracts  from  the  value  of  the  oral  method  considered 
as  a  method. 

It  is  worth  noting  here  that  even  for  communication  on 
industrial,  commercial,  scientific  or  scholastic  subjects  it  is 
of  infinitely  more  importance  to  be  able  to  understand  the 
foreign  language,  written  or  spoken,  than  to  write  or  speak 
it.  The  essential  in  explaining  a  liighly  technical  subject 
is  clearness,  and  the  language  in  which  this  can  best  be 
achieved  is  one's  own.  Much  trouble  and  annoyance  would 
be  avoided,  were  it  always  held  to  be  a  breach  of  courtesy 


570  THK    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANrrUAGES. 

to  write  to  an  educated  foreigner  in  the  foreign  language. 
And  even  in  speaking  on  complex  matters  it  is  far  better 
that  eacli  interlocutor,  putting  liis  pride  in  his  poctet, 
should  use  his  mother  tongue. 

3.  Let  us  now  utilise  our  objects  as  canons  by  which  to 
determine  the  selection  of  the  subject-matter. 

Choice  of  ^o  beerin  with,  they  place  at  our  disposal  all 

Subject-  , .         ^  ,       •  "p  +1      f      •  / 

matter.  ^^^^  masterpieces  oi  the  foreign  nation  con- 

cerned, subject  to  their  being  suitable  for 
readers  of  school  age,  a  condition  that  still  leaves  us  with 
a  wide  choice.  In  addition  they  give  us  all  works  of  merit 
in  tlie  foreign  language  that  have  reference  to  the  people 
and  its  country,  merit  in  the  case  of  these  being  judged  as 
much  by  content  as  by  style.  The  first  group  suggests, 
to  mention  only  the  greatest,  the  names  of  Mohere,  La 
Fontaine,  Yoltaire,  V.  Hugo,  Groethe,  Schiller,  Lessing. 
The  second  would  include  history  in  all  its  branches,  moder- 
nised renderings  of  chronicles  and  legends,  biography,  also 
songs,  poetry  and  prose  fiction  illustrative  of  the  character, 
mode  of  life  and  achievements  of  the  foreign  nation,  and 
lastly,  direct  descriptive  accounts  of  the  country,  its  customs 
and  institutions.  The  two  groups  in  many  instances  over- 
laj).  For  instance,  nearly  all  the  plays  of  Moliere,  and 
certain  plays  of  Schiller  and  Goethe,  would  find  a  place  in 
both.  To  these  groups  might  be  added  a  third,  the  classics 
of  childhood.  To  exclude  Grimm's  fairy  tales  on  the 
ground  that  they  neither  conform  to  the  highest  standards 
of  literary  art,  nor  have  direct  reference  to  Germany  or 
the  Germans,  would  be  to  play  the  pedant. 

Within  the  limits  here  defined,  there  is  to  be  found 
ample  material  for  the  whole  school  coui-se,  excepting  the 
begmners'  stage,  in  which  the  choice  of  vocabulary  has  to 
be  largely  deterniiued  by  special  cu'cumstances  which  will 
best  he  explained  in  the  treatment  of  method. 


COURSE    OF    INSTRUCTION  571 

4.  To  lay  down  detailed  courses  of  instructiou  showing 

not  only  the  books  to  be  read,  but  also  tlie 

The  Course  (legree  of  attainment  in  the  use  of  the  lan- 
of  Instruction.        ^ 

guage  to  be  reached  at  each  stage,  is  outside 

the  scope  of  the  present  chapter.  Such  courses,  moreover, 
though  of  great  value  as  models,  would  in  practice  require 
considerable  modifications  to  suit  the  peculiar  needs  and 
conditions  of  any  given  school.  But  the  determination  of 
the  general  principles  which  should  guide  us  in  the  con- 
struction of  these  courses  is  a  matter  of  the  first  moment 
which  no  work  of  the  nature  of  the  present  can  afford  to 
ignore. 

If  oiu-  pupils  are  to  read  the  foreign  language  with 
pleasure,  and  this  is  what  we  wish,  they  must 
(i)  The  Course  read  with  ease,  therefore  they  must  read 
Literarv^and  ^^^h.  If  again  they  are  to  acquire  a  taste 
Linguistic.  for  what  is  best  in  the  foreign  litei-ature,  this 
taste  must  be  developed;  it  does  not  grow 
unaided,  but  comes  only  as  the  result  of  reading  good 
literature,  and  much.  And,  thirdly,  if  our  pupils  are  to 
quit  school  with  an  adequate  Icnowledge  of  the  foreign 
nation  itself,  they  must,  once  more,  read  much.  As  it  is 
precisely  these  aims  that  are  of  most  importance,  a  pro- 
portionately large  amount  of  the  time  at  our  disposal 
should  be  given  to  reading,  both  close  or  '  intensive,'  and 
rapid  or  '  extensive.' 

What  makes  it  all  the  more  necessary  to  insist  upon  the 
supreme  educational  value  of  facility  in  understanding  the 
written  language  is  the  deplorable  neglect  it  has  suffered 
in  a  past  still  recent,  owing  both  to  the  excessive  atten- 
tion given  by  what  is  known  as  the  Old  Method  to  the 
grammar  and  also  to  the  paralysing  monotony  of  the 
classical  construe,  the  result  being  that  the  average  boy  or 
girl  left  school  not  only  unable  to  read  a  foreign  author  of 


572  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

ordinary  difficulty,  but  pardonably  averse  to  repeating  an 
experience  which  had  brought  them  so  little  profit  or 
pleasure.  Even  now,  in  spite  of  the  almost  startling  results 
achieved  by  the  Direct  Method  in  respect  to  this  particular 
attainment,  we  are  still  far  from  grasping  its  full  practical 
import  for  the  achievement  of  our  highest  aims. 

A  glimjDse  of  what,  in  practice,  these  aims  demand  is 
admirably  given  by  the  following  picture  of  what  has  been 
achieved  in  the  case  of  a  class  of  girls  taught  for  some  five 
or  six  years  wholly  on  reform  lines : 

"  The  teacher  of  this  form  lias  need  to  be  a  very  versatile  person, 
and  as  the  children  outstrip  the  publishers  in  their  zeal  for  stories 
suitable  to  thirteen  to  fourteen,  she  is  sometimes  driven,  in  the 
absence  of  a  book,  to  read  to  them  a  short  story  or  other  sketch 
from  some  modern  author.  How  their  eyes  gleam  when  Mon  jidU 
Trott  or  a  book  of  anecdotes  is  opened  !  And  for  three-quarters  of 
an  hour  the  class  of  twenty  sits  spell-bound,  enjoying  not  only  the 
story,  but  the  felicities  of  the  narration,  almost  as  much  as  would 
you  or  I."  ^ 

Here,  then,  we  see  a  class  actually  enjoying  itself  in  the 
process  of  realising  the  chief  aim  we  have  in  view,  glad  not 
only  in  the  feeling  of  achievement,  but  full  of  genuine 
enthusiasm  for  the  subject  and  of  good  promise  for  the 
school  years  to  come  and  after.  In  that  other  mental 
picture,  easily  conjured  up  from  the  record  of  past  school- 
days, if  any  rare  emotion  comes  to  enliven  the  long  hours 
of  resentful  boredom,  it  is  due  not  to  joy  in  the  work  but 
to  a  righteous  indiscipline,  the  stimulus  of  the  mark,  or 
the  sting  of  the  cane.  This  is  no  exaggeration.  There 
were  no  doubt  exceptions.     A  great  personality  has  some- 

1  From  the  report  of  a  lecture  given  by  ]SIiss  F.  !M.  Purdie,  of 
work  done  at  the  Exeter  High  School.  It  is  published  in  full  in  the 
July  number  (1908)  of  Modern  Language  Ttaching,  the  organ  of  the 
Modem  Language  Association  (A.  and  C.  Black). 


COURSE    OF    INSTRUCTION.  573 

times  compensated  for  an  indefensible  system,  but  the 
system  none  the  less  remains  indefensible. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that,  if  we  were  content  with 
teaching  facility  in  reading,  recognising  that  this  suffices 
to  realise  the  most  important  of  our  aims,  little  formal 
instruction  would  be  necessary.  When  once  the  beginner's 
stage  was  past,  the  class  would  learn  to  read  chiefly  by 
reading.  Oiu*  objects  require,  however,  that  at  least 
enough  skill  in  -nriting  and  speaking  the  language  shall 
be  acquired  to  serve  as  a  basis  for  later  specialised  in- 
struction. What  this  minunimi  should  be  has  never 
yet  been  determined,  and,  even  under  favourable  con- 
ditions, never  can  be  determined  absolutely ;  but  it  is  of 
very  great  importance  that  it  shotdd  not  be  pitched  so 
high  as  to  compel  the  teacher  to  give  to  training  in  lin- 
guistic expression  time  that,  educationally  regarded, 
might  more  profitably  be  devoted  to  literature.  In 
practice  the  minimum  is  fixed  by  examining  bodies,  who 
show  an  undoubted  tendency  to  exact  a  degree  of  pro- 
ficiency in  the  use  of  the  language  that  makes  adequate 
attention  to  the  literary  side  almost  impossible  under  the 
conditions  usually  prevailing  in  our  schools. 

If  we  assume,  then,  that  some  degree  of  skill  in  speaking 
and  wi-iting  the  language  has  to  be  reached  beyond  what 
is  strictly  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  our  pupils 
to  read  its  literature  with  ease  and  pleasure,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  recognise  frankly  the  dual  nature  of  our  task. 
The  reading  of  a  masterpiece  as  literature  and  the  use 
of  the  same  as  a  basis  of  instruction  in  vocabulary 
and  grammar  are  in  their  nature  entirely  distinct  pro- 
cesses that  can  only  be  associated  at  the  risk  of  defeating 
at  least  one  of  the  objects  in  view.  It  is  far  safer, 
indeed,  that  the  former  should  not  be  associated  in  the 
mind   of   the   average   pupil  with   the   compulsory    drill 


574  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

inseparable  from  even  the  most  stimiilatiug  of  methods. 
This  need  not  prevent  ns  from  using  portions  of  classical 
authors  to  serve  as  the  basis  of  formal  instruction.  The 
essential  is  to  keep  separate  the  literary  from  the  linguistic 
lesson.  This  can  best  be  done  by  introducing,  as  soon 
as  the  class  is  able  to  understand,  without  much  difficulty, 
an  easy  foreign  author,  two  parallel  series  of  reading-books 
differentiated  by  their  objects  and  methods,  but  linked 
by  their  subject-matter. 

The  first  series  would  consist  of  texts,  either  of  the 
highest  literary  merit  available  for  school  use,  or  else 
having  special  reference  to  the  life,  character,  and  history 
of  the  foreign  nation.  The  number  of  texts  that  should  be 
put  into  this  series  depends  of  course  upon  the  conditions 
of  instruction.  What  may  be  done  under  favourable 
circumstances  is  illustrated  by  the  work  of  an  Upper  VI. 
in  the  Exeter  High  School  for  Girls. ^  This  class,  average 
age  18,  with  five  lessons  a  week  of  40  to  45  minutes  each, 
and  one  longer  lesson  lasting  about  1^  hours,  read  in  the 
two  terms  up  to  Easter,  1908,  sixteen  Erencli  plays,  selected 
from  those  of  Racine,  Corneille,  and  Moliere,  this  in 
addition  to  the  close  study  of  set  books,  including  some  of 
the  plays  above  mentioned,  and  all  the  other  work  re- 
quired of  candidates  preparing  for  the  Cambridge  Higher 
Locals.^ 

The  second  or  linguistic  series  would  consist  of  a  few 
graduated  reading-books,  sufficient  for  the  whole  school 
course,  and  specially  adapted  to  serve  as  the  basis  of 
exercises  in  speaking  and  writing  the  language.  In  order 
to  provide  the  necessary  variety  of  vocabulary  these  readers 

^  See  report  of  Miss  Purdie's  lecture  previously  quoted. 

^  The  value  of  letting  the  pupils  read  much  rapidly  in  addition  to 
what  is  read  closely  and  slowly  is  dealt  with  fully  in  §  6  under  the 
heading  of  Method  in  the  Literary  Course  (pp.  647-650). 


COURSE    OF    INSTRUCTION.  575 

would  be  made  up  of  extracts,  each  a  comi^lete  wliole  iu 
itself,  not  a  fmgment  torn  from  its  context.  As  the 
language  should  be  modern,  the  extracts  woidd  be  chosen 
from  the  best  available  literature  of  modern  times.  For 
the  subject-matter  there  would  be  no  need  to  go  outside 
the  limits  already  imposed  by  our  canons.  Thus,  in  this 
respect,  the  second  series  would  resemble  the  'first  or 
literaiy  series. 

The  two  series  could  be  made  of  mutual  service  in  many 
ways.  The  Literary  might  occasionally  supply  subjects  for 
test  compositions.  The  Linguistic  might  be  so  arranged 
as  to  give  a  general  view  of  the  chief  epochs  of  the  foreign 
literature  and  history,  for  we  wish  our  pupils  to  quit 
school  not  only  able  and  keen  to  extend  their  knowledge  of 
the  best  foreign  literature,  but,  if  one  may  be  pardoned  the 
expression,  knomng  the  ropes.  They  must  at  least  know 
what  there  is  to  read.  They  must  in  short  be  provided 
with  a  map  of  the  foreign  literature  and,  side  by  side  with 
it,  of  the  foreign  history.  Therefore,  among  the  varied 
extracts  deahng  with  the  foreign  nation,  its  life,  its 
character  and  country,  there  should  be  found  place  for  a 
series,  rendered  continuous  by  specially  ^vl-itten  connecting 
notes,  giving  an  account  of  the  cliief  epochs  of  its  history 
and  literature. 

Before  quitting  tliis  part  of  the  sul>ject,  we  have  to  face  a 
(ii)  How  far  question  which  has  so  far  only  received  in- 
Instruction  in  cidental  treatment.  To  what  extent  is  the 
fs'ptSbS'""  ^^^*^^*  ^^  *^^^  ^^^«ks  read  to  be  made  the 
subject  of  instruction  ?  Is  the  teacher,  when 
reading  with  his  pupils  a  foreign  masterpiece  or  some 
account  of  the  foreign  nation's  character,  life,  and  history, 
to  be  satisfied  with  letting  them  assimilate  what  they  can 
of  the  subject-matter  without  control  on  his  part  or  reflec 
tion  on  their  part  ?     Or,  secondly,  is  he  to  limit  himself  to 


576  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

directing  their  attention  to  important  points,  adding  com- 
ments where  necessary  ?  Or,  thirdly,  is  he  to  lead  them  to 
analyse  the  content  methodically,  and  discuss  whether  it  is 
true  or  false,  right  or  wrong,  good  or  bad  ? 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  third  method  is  the 
best,  and  the  second  better  than  the  first.  Given 
adequate  time,  the  third  is  quite  possible  at  any  stage  of 
the  instruction  when  the  pupil  has  mastered  a  passage 
which  contains  something  worth  study,  that  is,  if  the 
lesson  is  to  be  in  English.  If  in  the  foreig-n  language, 
then  instruction  of  this  kind,  unless  of  a  very  elementary 
natiu-e,  can  only  profitably  be  given  when  the  class  has 
reached  a  fairly  advanced  stage,  for  it  demands  the  ability 
to  express  ideas  freely  in  the  foreign  idiom.  It  involves 
'  free '  conversation,  and  this,  if  introduced  before  the 
class  is  prepared  for  it  by  careful  previous  drill  in  con- 
struction and  inflection,  merely  serves  to  foster  habits  of 
incorrect  expression 

But  adequate  time  for  a  systematic  treatment  of  the 
content  can  by  no  means  be  postulated.  Hence  it  becomes 
necessary  to  find  guiding  principles  that  vnW  help  us  in 
any  given  case  to  decide  which  of  the  three  methods  of 
treatment  to  adopt,  to  what  subjects  to  give  the  preference, 
and  whether  or  not  to  make  the  foreign  language  the 
medium  of  commmiication. 

Now  if  the  objects  we  have  in  view  in  teaching  a  foreign 
language  are  to  be  realised,  the  first  condition  of  success  is 
that  our  pupils  should  reach  the  requisite  degree  of  attain- 
ment in  reading,  writing,  and  speaking.  In  other  words, 
the  first  duty  of  the  foreign  language  teacher  is  to  teach 
the  foreign  language.  The  extent  to  which  he  can  at  any 
part  of  the  course  turn  aside  to  teach  history  or  other 
forms  of  knowledge  contained  in  the  texts  read  must  de- 
pend \ipon  the  balance  of  time  available  after  this  condition 


COURSE    OF    INSTRUCTION.  bt  i 

has  been  satisfied.  Tlae  same  consideration  will  also 
necessarily  determine  whether  he  can  employ  the  best  of 
the  three  methods  above  described,  or  must  be  content 
with  one  of  the  less  desirable  alternatives.  Each  case, 
therefore,  "will  have  to  be  judged  on  its  own  merits. 

The  selection  of  the  topics  that  are  to  form  the  basis  of 
instruction  must  likewise  be  determined  by  the  objects, 
preference  being  given  to  those  which  cannot  receive 
adequate  attention  in  other  branches  of  the  school  course. 
In  reading  French  history,  for  instance,  it  would  be  absurd 
for  the  teacher  to  spend  time  in  discussing  the  causes  of 
the  Hundred  Years'  War,  for  this  should  be  the  function 
of  the  history  lesson,  but  he  would  be  quite  justified  in 
pausing  to  dwell  upon  the  character  and  achievements  of 
St.  Louis. 

Lastly,  in  deciding  whether  or  not  to  use  the  foreign  or 
the  native  tongue,  one  has  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  special 
object  of  the  lessons  on  subject-matter  is  not  the  attain- 
ment of  skill  in  the  use  of  the  language,  but  knowledge. 
If  in  any  given  case,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  subject, 
unfavourable  conditions,  or  other  causes,  the  use  of  the 
foreign  language,  by  impeding  freedom  of  expression,  stands 
in  the  way  of  this  object,  then  it  is  obviously  best  to  con- 
duct the  lesson  in  the  mother  tongue.  To  persist  under  such 
circumstances  in  using  the  foreign  tongue  is  to  attempt,  at 
the  same  time,  two  things  that  are  mutually  obstructive. 

Further,  if  we  admit  that  even  expert  linguists  are  well 
advised,  when  discussing  complex  matters,  to  use  each  his 
native  speech,  there  can  be  no  necessity  for  exacting  from 
our  pupils  an  advanced  degree  of  skill  in  conversational 
fluency.  The  attempt  to  do  so  becomes  in  fact  very  mis- 
chievious  if  it  exceeds  the  demands  of  the  objects  of  in- 
struction and  results  in  giving  to  the  attainment  of 
linguistic  sldll  time  that  might  more  profitably  be  devoted 

PR.  TG.  37 


578  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

to  literature.  Subject,  however,  to  the  above  reservations, 
everything  is  to  be  gained  by  conducting  lessons  on  the 
subject-inatter  in  the  foreign  language,  for  it  permits 
us  to  pay  greater  attention  to  the  content  without  any  fear 
of  neglecting  the  essential  requirements  of  tlie  form.  That 
this  is  frequently  possible,  given  an  appropriate  topic, 
competent  teaching,  and  favourable  conditions,  no  longer 
admits  of  reasonable  doubt.  The  fact  that  in  many 
schools  it  is  not  done  is  due  merely  to  the  ignorance  in 
which  teachers  are  often  content  to  remain  in  respect  to 
what  is  being  achieved  outside  their  own  class-rooms. 
The    stage   at   which   the  art  of  translation  should  be 

begun  cannot  of  course  be  stated  absolvitely. 
(iii)  The  Art  j^  depends  vipon  various  conditions,  such  as 
in  thTcourse!^  the  quahty  of  the  teacher  and  the  class,  or 

the  time  at  their  disposal.  One  rule  for  guid- 
ance may,  however,  safely  be  laid  down ;  it  is  that  the  kind 
of  translation  we  are  here  discussing  shoidd  never  be  allowed 
to  degenerate  into  the  mechanical  drudgery  of  dictionary- 
thumbing.  If  doing  unpleasant  tasks  be  good  for  young 
folk  it  should  take  some  f omi,  such  as  scrubbing  the  class- 
room floor,  that  does  not  tend  to  defeat  the  purpose  of 
other  activities  no  less  commendable.  To  force  the  un- 
happy small  boy  or  girl  to  hammer  out  laboriously  a  coups 
de  dlctionnaire  the  sense  of  every  phrase,  be  the  value  of 
this  exercise  as  an  ethical  gymnastic  what  it  may,  will  not 
prove  the  means  of  making  them  appreciate  the  philo- 
loo-ical  joys  of  discriminating  between  nice  shades  of 
meaning.  The  fine  art  of  translation  presiipposes,  if  it  is 
to  be  a  stimulating  and  otherwise  profitable  educational 
discipline,  a  fair  knowledge  of  both  the  languages  involved, 
and  an  advanced  knowledge  of  the  one  into  which  the 
rendering  has  to  be  made  ;  for,  as  already  explained,  it  is 
not  penetrating  the  thought  of  the  original  that  constitutes 


COURSE    OF    INSTRUCTION.  579 

the  chief  difficulty  of  translation,  but  finding  for  the 
thought,  when  grasped,  the  most  appropriate  setting  in 
another  language.'  Now  no  one  imagines  that  the  literary 
tast«  which  this  exercise  requires  can  be  gained  by  energetic 
handling  of  a  dictionary,  however  necessary  this  may  be. 
It  comes  only  from  much  reading  of  the  best  models.  To 
hurry  our  pupils  into  translation  is  to  ignore  this  patent 
fact,  the  result  being  that  they  murder  both  languages 
impartially,  thus  contracting  a  tendency  to  slovenly  speech 
which  it  should  be  the  one  object  of  translation  'to  over- 
come.^- The  necessity  for  delay  applies,  of  course,  with 
much  greater  force  to  translation  into  the  foreign  tongue 
than  to  that  into  the  native,  and  experience  may  yet  show 
that  Prof.  Victor  was  right  when  he  said  that  the  former  is 
an  art  which  has  no  proper  place  in  the  school.^ 

As  it  is  of  infinitely  more  importance  that  the  mother- 
tongue  should  profit  l^y  translation  than  the  foreign,  it  fol- 
lows that  translation  into  English  must  receive  more  atten- 
tion than  the  inverse  process.  It  follows,  further,  that  the 
time  given  to  the  subject  should  not  be  taken  solely  from  the 
hours  aUott«d  in  the  time-table  to  the  foreign  language. 
That  the  course  should  be  planned  so  as  to  make  a  com- 
plete whole  for  those  leaving  at  16  and  at  18 
iiTEllation'"'^  respectively  is  obvious,  the  difference  between 
to  Age.  tlie  two,  in  so  far,  at  least,  as  the  first  foreign 

language  taught  is  concerned,  being  one  of 
degree.     In  respect  to  the  second  foreign  language,  in  cases 

1  S'ee§  1  (v.),  pp.  564-8. 
^  2  It  may  be  well  to  recall  here  the  distinction  between  transla- 
tion as  an  art  and  as  a  method  of  instruction.      It  is  only  with  the 
former  that  we  are  concerned  in  this  section. 

3  "  Das  Ubersetzen  in  fremde  Sprachen  ist  eine  Kunst,  welche  die 
Schule  nichts  angeht.  "—Der  Sjyrachunterricht  miu^s  umkehren.  Third 
edition  (with  notes),  1905, 


580  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

where  the  time  for  adeqiiate  treatment  is  not  available,  it 
would  be  advisable  to  limit  tlie  instruction  of  pupils  leaving 
school  at  16  to  the  acquisition  of  facility  in  reading,  and  it 
is  unfortunate  that  examining  Iwdies  do  not  make  this 
possible  by  allowing  composition  and  grammar  in  the 
second  foreign  language  offered  to  be  an  optional  subject. 
The  same  applies  to  the  limited  course  given  in  one  foreign 
language  in  Higher  Elementary  and  Higher  Grade 
Schools. 

In  the  absence  of  trustworthy  experimental  proof, 
nothing  definite  can  be  said  as  to  the  ideal  age  at  which 
to  begin  the  first  foreign  langiiage.  Opinions,  as  might  he 
expected,  conflict,  and  practice  follows  suit. 

A  complete  course  luider  existing  conditions  is  as  a  rule 
possible  only  in  the  case  of  one  foreign 
relaSve  place  (»io<i<?rn)  language,  the  second  receiving 
of  French,  either   partial   treatment   or   being    omitted 

^^f^^r  ^^° '  a^ltogether.'  It  becomes  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  consider  which  language  should 
be  given  priority. 

When  only  one  can  be  taught,  the  choice  lies  between 
French  and  G-erman.  In  practice  a  decision  has  already 
been  reached,  French  almost  universally  having  the  prefer- 
ence. Nor  are  the  reasons  far  to  seelc.  French,  in  the  first 
place,  offers  a  far  wider  choice  of  first-rate  prose  literatui-e 
suitable  for  school  use.  In  the  second  place,  its  prose, 
in  addition  to  its  incomparable  lucidity,  possesses,  to  a 
supreme  degree,  a  quality  Avhich  is  often  conspicuous  by  its 
absence  in  English  writings  and  still  more  so  in  German. 
Tliis  may  be  described  as  unity  of  design,  the  orderly 
arrangement  of  parts  to  form  an  organic  whole  freed  from 

^  A  type  of  school,  corresponding  to  the  German  Realschule,  in 
which  modern  languages  receive  adequate  attention,  is  happily- 
making  its  appearance,  though  none  too  quickly. 


COURSE    OF    INSTKUCTION.  581 

all  that  is  uot  essential  to  its  main  purpose.  The  analysis 
of  good  French  prose- works  provides  a  training  in  the  art 
of  literary  composition  that  it  would  not  be  wise  to  neglect. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  urged  in  favour  of  Grernian 
that  it  is  the  key  to  the  centi-al  storehovise  of  modern 
learning.  Supposing  we  grant  this  to  l»e  so,  the  argument 
can  nevertheless  only  appeal  to  those  who  ai-e  prepared  to 
abandon  the  accepted  ideal  of  a  general  education  and  set 
the  interests  of  the  few  above  those  of  the  many  ;  it  being 
certain  that  the  number  of  persons  ever  likely  to  consult 
German  woi-ks  of  a  specialist  nature  is,  comparatively 
speaking,  very  limited,  and  these  are  generally  just  the 
persons  who  <|uit  school  at  18,  and  should,  therefore,  have 
ample  time  to  acquire  facility  enough  in  reading  Cxermau 
to  make  further  progress  in  any  special  direction  a  matter 
of  no  great  difficulty. 

As  the  second  language  seldom  receives  the  attention 
bestowed  on  the  first,  the  px'eceding  ax'guments  have  also 
force  when  it  is  a  question  only  of  deciding  whether  to 
begin  with  Trench  or  German,  assuming  both  taught.  In 
this  connection  an  additional  argument  urged  in  favoiu'  of 
German  is  that  for  beginners  it  is  easier.  This  is  true 
in  the  matter  of  the  vocabulary  and  pronunciation,  but  not 
of  inflection  and  construction. 

Allowing,  therefore,  that  the  balance  of  arguments  is  in 
favour  of  tlie  retention  of  French  in  its  present  position,  we 
have  next  to  meet  the  fact  that,  though  German  is  the  only 
alternative  to  be  considered  in  selecting  the  first  language, 
it  has  for  second  place  an  occasional  rival  in  Spanish,  and, 
as  far  as  the  Principality  is  concerned,  in  Welsh.  The 
claims  of  the  latter  arise,  however,  from  purely  local  cir- 
cumstances and  need  not  detain  us.  Nor  is  Spanish  a 
serious  rival  except  in  certain  localities,  where  for  com- 
mercial reasons  it:?  claims  are  strong.     Mr.  C.  Brereton  has 


^82  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODEIRN    LANGUAGES. 

suggested  tliat  "  Italian  might  very  well  be  taken  up  as  a 
second  language  in  some  girls'  schools."^  The  speech  of 
Dante  has  certainly  a  claim  to  recognition,  and,  where 
efficient  teachers  are  available,  there  seems  no  reason 
why  the  suggestion  should  not  be  acted  upon.  Though 
German  has  undoubted  claims  to  precedence,  there  is 
nothing  to  be  gained  by  giving  it  exclusive  right  to  second 
place. 

Little  more  on  this  subject  can  profitably  be  said  with- 
out raising  the  whole  question  of  the  relative  importance  to 
be  attached  to  the  ancient  and  modern  languages  respec- 
tively, and  of  the  place  to  be  assigned  to  them  in  the 
cuiTicula  of  different  types  of  schools.  This  would  lead  us 
too  far  astray  from  the  immediate  matter  in  hand.  But 
one  statement  may  be  ventui*ed :  it  is  that  the  chief  of  our 
difficulties,  lack  of  time,  would  be  considerably  diminished 
if  we  were  to  exact  skill  in  the  use  of  the  language  only  in 
the  case  of  the  modern,  being  content  to  i-equire  in  the 
case  of  the  ancient  such  facihty  in  reading  as  would  make 
it  possible  for  our  pupils  to  quit  school  able  to  understand, 
without  frequent  reference  to  a  dictionary,  any  text  of 
ordinary  difficulty.  Our  mistake  is,  not  that  we  teach  too 
many  languages,  but  that  we  insist  on  exacting  the  same 
kind  of  attainment  in  each,  the  first  to  suffer  being  the 
ancient  languages  themselves  ;  for  owing  to  the  false  stress 
laid  on  the  formal  side  of  instruction  only  few,  very  few, 
of  our  pupils  ever  reach  the  stage  at  which  they  can  read 
a  Latin  or  Greek  classic  as  literature  to  be  enjoyed  and 
appreciated.  The  resulting  loss  is  certain,  whereas  the 
gain  offered  by  the  so-called  mental  discipline  conferred 
by  formal  instruction  in  the  classics  is  at  least  prob- 
lematic, the  proof  of  its  existence  depending  mainly  upon 

'   The  TeachiiKj  of  Jloderu  Langiiat/es,  p.  IG  (Blackie). 


COURSE    OF    INSTRUCTION.  583 

a  psychological  theory  which  psychologists  themselves  have 

generally  abaudoned.' 

It  remains  to  note  briefly,  what  is  sometimes  overlooked, 

namelv,  that  the  foreign  language  course  is 
(vi)  The  Course         -      %         i  if        ttt     i  i        i 

Correlated.         P^"  ^^    ^  larger  whole.      We  have  already 

seen  that  the  French  or  Grerman  lesson  is 
closely  connected  with  the  English  history  lesson  in 
respect  to  one  of  its  aims,-  and  this  connexion  might  be 
rendered  more  systematic  Avith  advantage  to  both  studies. 
Forinstauce,periodsof  French  and  English  history  might  be 
read  concurrently.  The  same  applies  to  English  literature. 
Success  both  in  planning  and  working  the  course  above 
outlined  depends  largely  upon  the  conditions  of  instruction. 
To  take  one  example  that  has  already  forced  itself  iipon  our 
attention  more  than  once  :  it  is  clear  that  adequate  atten- 
tion cannot  be  given  to  the  literary  side,  if  the  time  allotted 
to  the  language  is  so  limited  that  the  bulk  of  it  must  be 
devoted  to  the  purely  formal  instruction  required  for 
examination  purposes. 

11. 

5.  Training  in  the  appreciation  of  literature  and  in 
translation  as  a  fine  art  cannot  be  given 
Instruction  "^^^^  *^^^  learner  has  ah'eady  made  con- 
in  the  siderablo  progress  in  the  foreign  language 
cSe'*'°  '^^^^^-  Consideration  of  the  method  suitable 
to  each  can,  therefore,  be  deferred.  The 
rules  that  govern   instruction  in  the  content  do  not  fall 

1  The  Faculty  jjsychology,  which  assumes  the  mind  to  be  divided 
into  separate  faculties,  a  Reasoning  faculty,  a  Memory  faculty, 
and  so  forth.  Having  assumed  this,  it  naturally  cost  the  classical 
teachers  no  eifort  to  assume  further  that  each  faculty  was  best 
trained  by  the  subject  they  taught. 

^  See§l  (iv.),  pp.  oG2-i. 


684  THE    TEACHING    OF    BIODERN    LANGUAGES. 

witliiu  the  scope  of  the  present  inquiry  and  must  be 
sought  for  in  woi'ks  dealing  with  the  teaching  of  the 
particular  subject,  historical  or  other,  that  is  to  supply 
the  matter  of  any  given  lesson.  "We  have  then,  for  the 
present,  to  concentrate  attention  upon  how  to  teach  facility 
in  understanding,  speaking,  and  writing  the  language.  As 
all  three  have  to  be  considered  under  the  head  of  Method 
in  the  Linguistic  Coiu'se,  any  additional  remarks  on  points 
peculiar  to  the  Literary  Course  can  be  added  later.  This 
mode  of  treatment,  in  addition  to  making  for  conciseness, 
has  the  advantage  of  rendering  the  inquiry  into  method 
indej^endeut  of  the  question  as  to  whether  the  division 
into  parallel  coiu'ses  is  in  itself  practicable  or  even  de- 
sirable. 

At  the  outset  we  find  ourselves  faced  with  two  difficulties 

...  _  .  .  arising  from  the  fact  that  (1)  not  only  are 
(i)  Beginner  s  ■      ^_^       f       ■         i  1       i 

Course :  Pro-      there     m   the    foreign    langviages    we   teach 

nunciation  sounds  which  are  absent  from  the  native,  but, 

^'  when  there  is  correspondence,  there  is  seldom, 
if  ever,  identity ;  (2)  each  language  has  its  own  peculiari- 
ties of  accentuation,  intonation,  and  quantity.^  These 
difficulties  can  be  overcome  only  by  paying  very  careful 
attention  to  both  the  j)rocesses  that  are  involved  :  listening 
and  imitation ;  the  latter  being  assisted  in  the  case  of  each 
sound  by  just  so  much  information  about  the  position  and 

'  Accentuation  means  the  relative  degree  of  force  or  loudness 
with  which  sj'lUxbles  are  uttered.  Cf.  French  o-pi-ra  with  I<]nglish 
op'ra,  the  stress  in  the  latter  being  strong  on  the  first  syllable,  and 
in  the  former  slightly  on  the  last.  (Force,  Stress,  Tonic,  Syllabic 
Accent.)  Intonation  is  the  I'ising  and  falling  of  the  voice  in  pitch. 
It  is  sometimes  termed  'inflection,'  a  word  here  avoided  as  it  is 
liable  to  be  confused  with  grammatical  inflection.  Quantity'  refers 
to  the  longer  or  shorter  duration  of  a  sound,  as  in  English  seize, 
cease,  or  French  pate,  pas. 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  585 

tnovements  of  tlie  speech-organs  as  is  strictly  necessary  for 
correct  articulation.^ 

In  order  to  ensure  clear  hearing  it  is  advisable  to  take 
certain  precautions  which,  though  seemingly  trivial,  save 
both  time  and  temper.  The  deafer  pupils  should  be  placed 
on  the  front  benches.  Cases  in  "which  deafness  affects  one 
ear  more  than  the  other  should  be  noted,  and  the  position 
of  pupil  and  teacher  arranged  accordingly.  To  aid  imita- 
tion, the  teacher  should  stand  where  all  the  pupils  can 
see  clearly,  and  "without  straining,  ho"w  he  pronounces  each 
ne'w  sound. 

The  use  of  hand-mirrors  is  strongly  recommended  by 
those  "who  have  tried  it.  As  these  can  be  purchased  at  a 
stationer  for  about  a  penny  each,  there  should  1  )e  no  difficulty 
in  placing  one  in  the  hands  of  each  pupil.  Advantage 
should  also  be  taken  of  the  instructive  fact,  frequently 
observed,  that  a  pupil  "will  often  learn  more  quickly  from  a 
class-mate  than  from  the  teacher.  This  involves  arran<;ino- 
the  class  so  that  the  quick  learners  are  in  a  position  to 
help  the  slower. 

It  may  happen  that,  owing  to  adenoids  or  other  causes, 
the  hearing  or  articulation  of  a  pupil  is  so  defective  that 
to  give  the  individual  attention  he  demands  would  unduly 
delay  the  progress  of  the  class.  The  best  the  teacher  can 
do  is  to  report  the  case  for  medical  inspection ;  the  Avorst, 
of  course,  is  to  forget  that  this  kind  of  '  stupidity '  has 
often  removable  causes.  The  possibility  of  ciu-e  shoidd 
be  assumed  until  the  contrary  is  proved. 

Full  use  should  be  made,  especially  when  teaching  large 
classes,  of  the  method  of  pronouncing  in  chorus,  for  it 


^  Information  as  to  the  mode  of  articulating  each  foreign  sound 
will  be  found  in  the  text-books  on  phonetics  given  in  the  select 
bibliographical  list  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 


586  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

increases  greatly  the  jjossibilities  of  practice  for  all. 
Experience  shows,  moreover,  that  the  teacher  with  a 
normal  ear  soon  acqiiires  the  habit  of  detecting  any  false 
sounds  occurring  to  mar  the  purity  of  the  united  response. 
Several  writers  of  experience  insist  upon  the  great  value 
for  articulation  of  class- singing  ;  and  some  introduce  it  on 
this  account  as  early  as  the  third  or  fourth  lesson.' 

It  is  sometimes  suggested  that  the  use  of  hand-mirrors 
and  the  grimaces  involved  in  the  successful  production  of  the 
apparently  strange  foreign  noises  are  calculated  to  distvu'b 
the  order  of  the  class-room.  This  depends  upon  the  teacher. 
If  he  takes  it  all  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  class  will  do  so 
also.  If,  however,  he  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that 
disorder  will  occiu',  his  expectations  are  likely  to  be  fulfilled. 
But  he  will  only  have  himself  to  blame. 

As  the  pronunciation  of  a  foreign  speech  involves 
muscular  combinations  that  are  new  to  the  pupil,  and  as 
these  constitute  ))y  themselves  difficulties  enough  to  cope 
with  at  one  time,  the  first  few  lessons  should  be  given  to 
drill  in  the  new  sounds  themselves.  It  is  important  that 
this  drill  shovild  never  be  carried  to  the  point  at  which  it 
becomes  wearisome.  When  in  the  case  of  young  beginners 
the  lesson  period  is  more  than  thirty  minutes,  it  may  be 
advisable  to  give  only  half  the  lesson  to  phonetics  and  the 
other  half  to  oral  vocabulary  practice.  But  the  matter  is 
distinctly  one  about  which  each  teacher  must  exercise  his 
own  judgment.  After  the  initial  course  is  over  the  drill 
should  still  be  repeated  at  regular  intervals  for  several 
months.  It  plays  in  the  teaching  of  pronunciation  exactly 
the  part  that  is  performed  b^'  voice  exercises  in  the  teaching 

1  See  Dr.  Max  Walter  :  Zur  Jfethodik  der  neusprachlichen  Unter- 
richis,  p.  6,  and  the  April  (1908)  number  of  Modem  Lanyuage 
Teaching  (A.  and  C.  Black)  for  an  article  by  Miss  F.  M.  Purdie  on 
French  Plays  and  Songs  in  Schools. 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COUESE.  587 

of  singing.  A  few  minutes  at  the  beginning  of  a  lesson 
will  suffice. 

If  the  pupils  have  had  no  previous  phonetic  training  in 
their  own  language,  it  is  advisable  to  devote  the  first  lesson 
or  so  to  a  non-technical  explanation  of  the  way  in  which 
sounds  are  produced,  illustrated  by  examples  taken  from 
English,  the  object  being  to  prepare  the  class  to  under- 
stand clearly  the  instructions  afterwards  to  ba  given  it  as 
to  the  movements  of  the  speech  organs  in  the  articulation 
of  the  foreign  sounds.  This  lesson  will  proba])ly  reveal 
defects  in  the  pupils'  pronunciation  of  the  mother  tongue 
itself,  which  may  very  profitably  be  utilised  for  purposes 
of  illustration.' 

There  is  no  precise  agreement  among  phoneticians  as  to 
what  order  of  teaching  the  foreign  sounds  presents  least 
difficulties  to  English  pupils.  The  following  alternatives 
may  be  regarded  as  distinctive  types.  The  first  starts  with 
the  Back  group  of  normal  vowels,  w,  o,  3,  a,  passing  to  the 
Front  group  a,  e,  e,  i?  The  abnormal  vowels  y,  4*,  oe, 
representing  combinations  of  mouth  positions  occurring  in 
the  two  preceding  groups,  form  a  natural  sequence,  the 
practice  being  from  i  to  y,  from  y  to  u,  etc.,  and  vice  versa. 
The  neutral  a  can  be  taken  with  them.  The  series  for  French 
is  completed  by  e,  ai,  a,  D,  which  are  practised  in  conjunction 
Avith  the  previously  taught  sounds  of  which  they  are  the 


'  A  specimen  first  lesson  in  sounds  will  be  found  in  0.  Jespersen's 
How  to  Teach  a  Foreign  Language,  pp.  145-153  (2nd  edition,  1908, 
Sonnenschein). 

-  The  phonetic  script  here  used  is  that  of  the  Association 
PhovMique  Internationale;  The  reader  to  whom  it  is  unfamiliar 
will  find  it  sufficiently  explained  by  the  Figures  A  and  B  that  follow, 
it  being  of  course  understood  that  in  B  all  the  possible  orthographic 
equivalents  are  not  given.  The  sound  a,  for  instance,  is  represented 
both  by  a/i  and  CM. 


588  THIi    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

uasalised  forms.  The  same  order  cau  be  followed  in  the 
case  of  German,  the  nasal  group  being-  of  course  absent. 
The  consonants  are  taken  in  the  horizontal  order  in  which 
they  appear  in  the  sound-chart  (Victor),  beginning  with 
the  series  j),  h,  t,  d,  h,  g.  The  question,  however,  as  to 
whether  it  is  worth  while  to  teach  the  differences  between 
the  native  and  foreign  consonants,  when  these  are  not 
strongly  marked,  is  still,  in  theory,  snbjudice,  the  aiisAver 
depending  upon  whether  the  object  in  view  is  a  perfect 
pronunciation  or  one  that  is  intelligil)le  to  the  foreigner. 
In  practice  the  finer  distinctions  are  generally  ignored. 

The  second  order  begins  differently:  (1)  i,  a,  u;  (2) 
then  the  normal  vowels  horizontally  in  order  to  impress 
upon  the  class  the  definite  relation  of  i  to  n,  e  to  o,  e  to  ^  ; 
(o)  Front  and  Back  vowels  closed  to  open ;  (4)  i  to  y,  y  to 
u,  etc. ;  (5)  Nasal.  The  significance  of  these  changes  will 
be  understood  by  reference  to  Figs.  A  and  B  below.' 

When  the  bai'e  sounds  have  been  sufficiently  practised, 
the  exercise  can  be  extended  by  taking  vowels  and  con- 
sonants together,  e.g.  hu,  ho,  ho,  etc.,  and  there  can  be  no 
objection  to  using  any  suitable  words,  the  meaning  being 
explained  either  by  translation  or  reference  to  an  object. 

As  soon  as  the  Back  and  Front  vowels  have  been  learnt, 
many  teachers  introduce  the  familiar  triangle  (Fig.  A) 
either  upon  the  blackboard  or  the  chart,  and  the  sounds 
are  practised  in  serial  form.  The  triangle,  which  is  here 
shown  with  all  the  French  vowels,  assumes  the  interior  of 
the  mouth  to  be  viewed  in  section  from  the  side  (profile), 
the  inverted  apex  resting  on  the  middle  of  the  tongue  in 

1  The  first  order  is  advocated  by  Mr.  D.  L.  Savory  (Goldsmiths' 
Coll.),  the  second  by  ]\Ir.  M.  P.  Andrews  (Lancing).  The  difference 
is  one  of  the  order  only,  the  same  varieties  of  practice  are  given  in 
both  cases.  Mr.  von  Glohn  (Perse)  would  eliminate  the  practice 
y  to  u.     The  present  writer  ventures  no  opinion  on  the  subject. 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE. 


689 


repose,  the  sides  rising  from  this  point  in  a  forward  and 
backward  direction  towards  the  palate.  Its  use  will  best  be 
understood  by  reading  the  corresponding  word  series  in 
Fig.  B,  proceeding  from  couj)  by  way  of  ])dte  to  six,  then 
back,  and  also  across  from  six  to  couj),  hebS  to  heau,  and  so 


Hard  Palate  (front) 


Soft  Palate  (back) 
(u) 


a^aa 
Mid-tongue  (centre) 


Hard  Palate  (front) 

six  (plume) 


Soft  Palate  (back) 


(coup) 


bebSV  -(peu)V (le) -/(beau) 


bete,  vin\(peurjJ£l) 


'tporte,  pont) 


patte^^pate,  pente 
Mid-tongue  (centre) 


on.  The  brackets  indicate  that  tlie  lips  must  be  rounded. 
The  position  of  the  consonants  is  shown  in  vertical  and 
horizontal  columns  on  the  same  chart. 

The   above  diagram    is  not,  of   course,    the  only    one 
available.     There   are  the  square    tables    in    Dr.    Sweet's 


590  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

excellent  Primer  of  Phonetics,  or,  again,  one  may  be  con- 
tent witli  drawing  a  rough  section  of  the  mouth  showing 
by  a  series  of  curves  the  tongue  positions  in  the  case  of 
each  sound.  The  latter  device  makes  it  easy  to  dispense 
with  the  use  of  any  lettering  during  the  drill  stage,  and  so 
emphasise  the  fact  that  language  is  primarily  composed  of 
sounds,  and  that  these  are  to  be  learnt  by  listening  and 
imitation,  and  not  by  looking  at  written  signs.^ 

Whatever  form  of  diagram  be  used,  the  object  in  view 
is  to  enable  the  pupil  to  fix  the  relative  positions  of  the 
centres  of  articulation.  The  diagram  provides  him  with  a 
sketch-map  that  shows  him  where  to  reproduce  in  his  own 
mouth  the  sound  that  his  ear  has  heard,  and  it  is  thus 
of  real  practical  service. 

The  sound  di'ill  should  also  be  made  to  provide  an 
exercise  in  quantity  ;  both  the  short  and  the  long  forms  of 
the  vowels  being  practised.  This  can  easily  be  done  in  the 
sei'ial  form,  e.g.  ii,  u:  or  Icn,  Icv.r  ;  o,  o:  or  (jro,  gro:s,  etc. 
Only  the  simplest  general  rules  should  be  taught. 

Accentuation  and  intonation  will  be  learnt  concurrently 
with  the  teaching  of  the  vocabulary,  and  progress  in  both 
will  depend  entirely  upon  the  amoxmt  of  the  foreign  lan- 
guage heard  and  spoken  in  the  class-rooms.  It  will  be 
slight  if  the  native  tongue  is  in  frec^uent  use.  In  the  case 
of  accentuation  a  few  simple  rules  will  help,  such  as  that  in 
French  the  same  stress  should,  generally  speaking,  be  put 
on  each  sounded  syllable,  with  a  slight  emphasis  on  the 
last.  The  importance  of  paying  attention  to  the  stress 
can  scarcely  be  exaggerated  ;  it  may  best  be  illustrated  by 
Dr.  Sweet's  anecdote  of  the  learned  German  professor 
who,  desiring  to  explain  that  he  was  "  occupied,"  succeeded 

1  This  is  the  course  followed  by  ISIr.  L.  von  Glehn,  of  the  Perse 
School,  Cambridge,  and  for  the  reason  given. 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  591 

only  in  proclaiming  liimself  "  a  cupid,"  a  statement  that 
consorted  ill  with  the  gravity  of  his  appearance. 

Grerman  intonation  is  comparatively  easily  learnt  OAving 
to  its  similarity  to  English,  but  the  French  presents  great 
difficulties,  which  can  only  be  overcome  by  listening  to  and 
imitating  good  models.  It  is  here  that  the  phonograph 
will  prove  of  value.  This  instrument,  let  us  add  in  passing, 
Avill  also  supply  a  means  of  accustoming  the  ear  of  the 
class  to  an  accent  other  than  that  of  the  teacher.  It  may 
be  used  both  to  give  dictations  and  to  provide  exercises  in 
understanding  the  spoken  language,  and  also,  occasionally, 
as  a  means  of  letting  pupils  hear  their  own  pronunciation 
reproduced.  The  effect  is  said  to  be  salutary.  To  the 
teacher  himself  the  instrument  is  of  course  invaluable. 

The  preliminaiy  sound  drill,  which  may  occupy  half-a- 
dozen  or  more  lessons,  is  folloAved  and  sometimes  accom- 
panied by  systematic  teaching  of  the  foreign  vocabidary. 
The  method  by  which  the  meanings  of  the  words  are 
taught  and  their  use  practised  will  be  described  in  the 
next  section.  Here  we  are  concerned  only  with  their  pro- 
nunciation, which,  as  already  explained,  is  taught  by 
listening  and  imitative  practice,  both  processes  being 
facilitated  by  splitting  each  sound-group  into  its  elements 
and  practising  these  apart  as  well  as  combined,  full  use  of 
course  being  made  of  the  wall-chart  or  diagram. 

In  these  initial  lessons  it  is  not  strictly  necessary  to  use 
any  form  of  lettering  even  in  connection  with  the  diagram, 
curves  or  points  sufficing.  There  is,  indeed,  something  to 
be  said  for  concentrating  the  whole  attention  of  the  pupil 
at  the  start  upon  listening  and  articulation.  But  sooner 
or  later  the  written  word  must  be  introduced,  and  when 
the  time  comes,  be  it  in  the  first  lesson  or  the  twentieth, 
we  have  to  face  the  difficulty  caused  by  the  fact  that  the 
traditional  or  noniic  orthography  of  the  foreign  language 


592  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

does  not  necessarily  represent  the  same  sounds  as  that  of 
the  native.  The  difference  is  liable  to  exercise  a  mislead- 
ing influence  tipon  the  pronunciation  of  the  beginner,  the 
tendency  on  his  part  being  to  give  to  the  foreign  written 
word,  e.g.  plume,  the  sound  it  would  have  in  English. 
The  old  method  of  introducing  the  beginner  at  once  to  the 
printed  page  ignores  the  difficulty  and  makes  the  acquisi- 
tion of  a  correct  pronunciation  not  perhaps  absolutely 
impossible,  but  far  less  rapidly  attainable  than  when  a 
more  intelligent  method  is  adopted. 

There  arc  two  recognised  methods  by  which  it  is  sought 
to  avoid  the  misleading  influence  of  the  ordinary  ortho- 
graphy :  (1)  by  not  introducing  it  until  the  sounds  have 
been  orally  practised^;  (2)  by  excluding  it  completely 
from  the  earlier  stages  of  instruction  (a  year  or  term) 
and  substituting  for  it  the  phonetic  script,  in  which 
each  sound  is  represented  by  one  spnbol,  and  each  sjTiibol 
only  represents  one  sound.- 

The  first  method  may  take  the  fonn  of  making  the 
instruction  exclusively  oral  for  a  year  or  so,  thus  imitating 
that  by  which  the  child  learns  its  native  tongue.  But  the 
imitation  can  only  be  incomplete,  for  children  of  school 
age,  with  whom  alone  we  are  here  concerned,  develop  in 
the  process  of  acquiring  the  native  tongue  a  habit  of 
expecting  sounds  to  be  rendered  by  visible  signs,  which  is 
well  advanced  by  the  time  they  approach  the  study  of  the 
first  foreign  language.  Unless  evidence  is  forthcoming  to 
show  that  the  habit  so  acquired  can  be  broken  by  practice 

1  Cf.  H.  Sweet :  Sounds  of  English,  p.  119  (Clarendon  Press),  and 
L.  Bahlsen :  The  Teaching  of  Modern  Langiiages,  p.  39  (Ginn 
and  Co.). 

-  The  term  "one  sound"  must  not  be  taken  too  literally;  it 
covers  a  number  of  slight  variations,  even  when  used  by  individuals 
of  the  same  nation. 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  693 

and  without  loss,  this  form  of  the  method  cau  scarcely  be 
regarded  as  practicable. 

Another  foriu  of  the  first  method,  here  termed  the 
Nomic  to  distinguish  it  from  the  purely  Oral  form  just 
mentioned,  and  from  the  second  or  Transcript  method, 
will  best  be  explained  bj  describing  the  present  writer's 
experience  of  it  with  several  classes  of  beginners  in  French, 
ranging  in  number  from  26  to  4,  and  in  age  from  15  to  9. 

Let  us  assume  that  the  preliminary  sound-drill  is  over,' 
that  the  systematic  Instruction  in  vocabulary  has  begun, 
and  that  the  first  half-dozen  names  of  objects  or  figures 
have  been  thoroughly  practised  orally.  Then,  either  in  the 
same  lesson,  or  after  revision  in  the  next,  the  teacher 
announces  that  he  is  going  to  write  the  French  words  on 
the  board,  and  hints  that  their  spelling  is  likely  to  cause 
surprises.  This  never  fails  to  excite  interest,  which  is 
by  no  means  lessened  when  the  apparently  eccentric 
orthography  of  each  foreign  word  is  revealed.  This 
is  all  to  the  good,  the  object  being  to  impress  the 
written  sign  firmly  upon  the  memory  and,  in  close 
simultaneous  connection  with  it,  the  corresponding 
sound  already  known,  so  that  the  two  are  bound  indis- 
solubly  together.  At  the  moment  each  word  is  being 
chalked,  the  teacher  repeals  the  sound,  has  the  word 
immediately  read  in  chorus  and  then  practised  individually, 
the  eyes  of  the  class  being  kept  upon  the  board.  When  all 
are  written,  they  are  read  backwards  and  forwards,  copied 
slowly  and  carefully  into  the  note-books,  and  finally 
once  more  read.  The  copies  should  be  collected  and  re- 
vised by  the  teacher,  who  will  be  wise  in  insisting  upon 
a  high  standard  of  neatness,  which,  considering  the  small 
amount  to  be  written,  should  not  be  difficult  to  attain. 

'  It  may  be  assumed  also,  for  the  moment,  that  the  diagrams 
used  will  be  unlettered,  unless  figures  are  used. 

PR.  TO.  38 


594  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

A  variety  of  ways  of  practising  the  sounds  in  associa- 
tion Avitli  the  written  words  can  be  devised,  one  being  the 
serial  drill  based  upon  the  triangle  (Fig.  B).  The  words 
attached  to  the  diagram  can  be  varied  from  lesson  to  lesson. 

The  method  here  outlined  is  based  on  the  fact  that,  in 
the  course  of  one  or  a  few  lessons,  the  time  A^arying  with 
the  size  of  the  class  and  other  conditions,  a  habit  of  pro- 
noimcing  a  sound  or  sounds  in  a  given  way  can  un- 
doubtedly be  formed  strong  enough  to  resist  the  disturbing 
influence  which  the  first  sight  of  the  corresponding  written 
words  in  the  traditional  spelling  woiild  otherwise  exert. 
That  the  sound  thus  learnt  is  not  necessarily  the  perfect 
or  model  one  goes  without  saying.  What  we  seek  to  avoid 
is  an  alteration  in  the  pupil's  pronunciation,  such  as  it  is 
at  the  moment,  when  the  written  sign  is  introduced. 
There  is  nothing  to  prevent  further  improvement  as  the 
result  of  further  practice. 

Further,  the  method  assumes  a  strictly  limited  number 
of  words  written.  The  right  amount  can  only  be  deter- 
mined by  experience.  Here  it  is  taken  as  half-a-dozen  or 
so  new  words  to  each  lesson  during  the  first  twenty  or 
thirty,  the  amount  being  afterwards  progressively  increased. 
This  limitation,  it  may  be  added,  applies  equally  to  the 
words  spoken  by  the  class,  a  point  insisted  upon  very 
strongly  by  experienced  teachers.  "  It  is  a  mistake  to  let 
too  much  be  spoken  by  the  class  in  the  beginner's 
course,  the  result  being  to  jeopardise  the  pronunciation."^ 
But  much  may  be  heard,  such  as  questions  or  class-room 
directions,  which  need  not  at  once  be  spoken  or  written. 

Before  passing  to  the  alternative  method,  it  will  be  con- 
venient to  follow  the  one  under  consideration  to  the  point 
when  the  class  is  expected  to  be  able  to  read  texts  without 

1  Dr.  Max  Walter  :  Aneignung  und  Verarheitung  des  Wo7-tschatzes 
imneusprachlichen  Unterrichts,  p.  11  (Marburg,  1907). 


METHOD    IX    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  5P5 

fear  of  its  proiiuuciatiou  lieing  disturbed  by  the  traditional 
script ;  a  point  that  must  sooner  or  later  be  reached  what- 
ever the  method,  phonetic  or  other,  previously  adopted. 
In  other  words,  it  must  be  able  to  recognise  the  sounds  it 
has  learnt  under  at  least  the  more  common  of  the  various 
disguises  that  they  may  assume  in  the  usual  orthography, 
the  sound  e,  for  instance,  in  the  words  bee,  mai,  trh,  hsic, 
reine.  This  involves  knowing,  not  only  what  sounds  each 
nomic  symbol  can  represent,  but  under  what  conditions. 
The  discovery  that  the  ordinary  or  nomic  a  can  represent 
both  the  sounds  a  and  cl  is  of  little  use  unless  one  knoAvs 
when  it  stands  for  one  and  when  for  the  other.  The  class 
must,  in  short,  classify  according  to  sound  the  vocabidary 
it  acquires,  and  formulate  general  orthoepical  rules. 

This  classification  can  be  begun  at  a  comparatively  early 
stage  of  the  beginner's  course,  a  special  note-book  being 
kept  for  the  pm-pose,  with  pages  ruled  in  columns,  a  page 
being  allotted  to  each  sound,  so  as  to  permit  of  carelessly 
written  ^vork  l^eing  recopied  on  the  same  page.     At  the 
head  of  one  of  the  columns  the  pupil  will,  for  instance, 
enter  the  word  banc,  adding  to  it,  as  they  occur,  every  other 
containing  the  same  sound,  e.g.  encrier,  dans,  enfant,  etc. 
He  will  learn  without  much  difficulty  from  this  column 
that  en,  an  have  the  same  sound,  and  further,  after  com- 
parison with  other  words,  e.g.  animal,  etc.,  that  this  is  so, 
as  a  general  rule,  when  they  occur  before  a  consonant  or 
are  final.     Words  containing  more  than  one  sound  will  of 
com-se  appear  in  more  tlian  one  column.     The  rules  so 
formulated  may  be  applied  by  the  simple  process  of  asking 
the  pupils  to  pronounce  examples  Avritten  upon  the  black" 
board.^   When    this    can    be    done    correctly  and   without 
hesitation,  the  classification  will  have  sei-ved  its  purpose. 
Unusual  forms  may  be  learnt  as  they  occur,  and  practised 
Avithout  reference  to  any  rule. 


596  THE    TEACHINO    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

The  sound- columns,  besides  serving  as  a  basis  for  classifi- 
cation, provide  a  further  means  of  practising  the  sounds  in 
conjunction  with  the  Avritten  words,  it  being  possible  in 
any  lesson  to  practise  a  given  sound  by  reading  in  the 
column  devoted  to  it  all  the  words  in  which  it  has  pre- 
viously occurred. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  alternative  method,  that  of  using 
"  a  phonetic  trajiscription,  which  should  l^e  employed  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  traditional  spelling  during  the  first 
period."^  The  actual  learning  of  the  transcript  will  occupy 
no  time  worth  mentioning;  it  will  be  acquired  almost 
unconsciously  in  connection  with  the  chart. 

At  the  end  of  a  term  or  a  year,  the  transition  from  the 
phonetic  to  the  unphonetic  spelling  is  made  by  re- 
reading in  the  latter  passages  that  have  previously  been 
worked  through  in  the  former,  and,  in  addition,  by 
classifving  the  ordinary  symbols  according  to  identity 
of  sound,  using  some  such  method  as  the  one  already 
described.  The  classification  is  common  to  the  two 
methods,  being  in  fact  unavoidable  for  the  reasons 
already  given. 

Having  described  the  alternative  methods,  it  remains  for 

1  Aim8  and  Principles  of  the  International  Phonetic  Association, 
(English  Editor:  Daniel  Jones,  7  Copse  Hill,  Wimbledon.)  The 
Association  Avas  founded  in  1886  by  a  group  of  French  Teachers. 
Besides  seeking  to  popularise  the  use  of  the  phonetic  transcription, 
it  "has  alwaj's  favoured  a  radical  reform  of  language  teaching  by 
the  adoption  of  '  direct '  or  '  inductive '  methods.  It  has  waged 
war  on  the  so-called  classical  method,  consisting  of  grammatical 
rules  learnt  bj'  heart  and  translations  of  unconnected  sentences 
into  the  foreign  language,  and  it  is  to  a  great  extent  responsible  for 
the  growing  disfavour  which  attaches  to  this  method  all  over  the 
world.  It  has  also  done  niuch  towards  encouraging  phonetic 
research,  and  the  scientific  study  of  languages  as  they  are  really 
spoken." 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  597 

US  to  ask  which  is  the  more  effective  in  overcoming  the 
disturbing  influence  upon  pronunciation  of  tlie  traditional 
orthography.  This  is  the  question  we  set  out  to  answer, 
and  by  the  answer  the  relative  merit  of  the  two  methods 
must  primarily  be  judged. 

Now  the  ISTomic  metliod,  though  it  serves  to  counteract 
any  influence  that  the  first  sight  of  the  written  word  may 
exert  upon  the  pronunciation  of  the  class,  is  by  its  verv 
nature  insuificient  to  guard  weak  or  inattentive  pupils 
from  subsequent  lapses  into  error.  The  source  of  error 
remains.  The  p  in  sept,  the  </  in  rang,  the  u  in  plume  may 
yet  prove  a  snare  to  the  unwary.  The  snare  is,  however, 
removed  if  we  substitute  set  for  sept,  ra  for  rang,  and 
p)lym  for  plume.  The  use  of  the  transcript,  by  eliminating 
the  disturbing  factor  for  as  long  a  period  as  a  year 
or  more,  renders  possilile  the  formation  of  a  habit  of 
correct  pronunciation  strong  enough  to  defy  perma- 
nently the  demoralising  action  of  the  traditional  ortho- 
graphy. It  saves  the  time  and  energy  that  have 
otherwise  to  be  expended  in  correcting  mistakes.  It 
serves  exactly  the  same  purpose  as  would  be  served  by 
the  exclusion  diu-ing  the  same  given  period  of  written 
signs  altogether. 

The  inherent  superiority  of  the  Transcript  as  a  mistake- 
preventive  being  admitted,  are  there  any  valid  reasons 
for  avoiding  its  use  ?  Leaving  out  of  account  the  unim- 
portant amount  of  time  required  to  learn  the  transcript 
itself,  the  chief  objection  offered  is  that  the  ultimate 
transition  from  the  phonetic  to  the  unphonetic  spelling 
exercises  a  disturbing  influence  upon  the  latter,  which 
is  avoided  by  the  alternative  method.  In  respect  to 
this  there  is  practical  agreement  that  phonetic  symbols 
are  liable  to  make  their  appearance  in  written  exercises 
{e.g.fwa  instead  oifois)  for  some  time  after  the  traditional 


598  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

spelling  lias  l^eeu  introduced.  But  the  experience  of  the 
majority  seems  to  show  that,  if  proper  care  is  taken, 
the  difficulty  cannot  be  regarded  as  serious.  At  the 
end  of  a  given  period  the  result  is,  of  coiirse,  the  same, 
whichever  method  has  been  adopted  ;  but  this  only  means 
that  the  errors  are  in  time  eliminated,  which  no  one 
doubts.  Some  go  further,  and  maintain  that  pupils 
taught  in  the  first  place  by  the  Transcript  method 
will,  at  the  end  of  a  year,  know  the  ordinary  spelling 
better  than  those  who  have  used  it  from  the  start.  No 
evidence  on  this  point  ought  to  be  accepted  as  conclusive 
luitil  based  on  a  considerable  niunber  of  experiments 
in  which  l)oth  methods  have  been  practised  under  similar 
conditions. 

Another  argument  against  the  use  of  the  transcript  is 
that  it  delays  the  introduction  of  the  unsounded  word- 
inflections,  e.g.  the  s,  x  of  the  plural,  e  of  the  feminine,  and 
several  tense  endings.  But  it  has  yet  to  be  shown  that 
the  delay  has  any  practical  importance.  The  reduction 
of  the  grammatical  difficulties  to  be  encountered  by  the 
beginner  may  indeed  be  clauned  as  an  advantage. 

On  behalf  of  the  Transcript  several  arguments,  more  or 
less  valid,  have  been  urged  in  addition  to  the  essential  one 
already  given.  Of  these  only  the  following  can  here  be 
noticed. 

In  the  first  place,  l>esides  its  essential  negative  value 
in  eliminating  the  distiirbing  influence  of  the  unphonetic 
traditional  script,  it  possesses,  by  the  mere  fact  of  being 
a  phonetic  script,  a  positive  value  in  keeping  the  attention 
of  pupil  and  teacher  constantly  directed  to  the  correct 
pronunciation.  It  thus  renders  comparatively  easy  the 
almost  unconscious  formation  of  a  right  habit 

It  also  aids  home-practice  of  pronunciation.  But  this 
claim   has  doubtful   force   as  far  as  the   first   stages  of 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  599 

instruction  are  concerned,  for  it  is  questionable  whether 
home-practice  awaj  from  the  ear  of  tlie  teacher  should 
then  be  allov^ed  at  all,  esjiecially  in  the  case  of  pupils  with 
a  weak  auditory  memory.  The  sound  that  a  phonetic 
symbol  represents  for  the  .beginner  is  not  the  model  sound, 
but  his  own  more  or  less  imperfect  imitation  of  it.  There 
is  no  virtue  in  the  symbol  that,  during  homeworh,  will 
either  enable  him  to  attain  a  better  accent  than  the  one 
he  achieves  in  class,  or  prevent  him  from  assiduously 
practising  a  worse.  It  will  not,  for  instance,  prevent  him 
from  pronouncing  badly  the  sound  e  in  the  name  of  the 
month  me.  What  it  can  do  is  to  prevent  him  from  altering 
it  to  e.  The  use  of  the  transcrij^t  in  home  repetition  is, 
therefore,  obvious  enough  when  once  the  learner  has 
mastered  the  more  difficult  sounds. 

A  further  argument  in  favour  of  the  use  of  the  transcript 
is  that  it  induces  the  teacher  who  has  not  received  a 
phonetic  training  to  pay  far  greater  attention  to  pro- 
nunciation. On  this  account,  if  for  no  other,  the  method 
deserves  to  be  encouraged,  for,  though  the  acquisition 
of  a  good  pronunciation,  compared  with  other  objects  of 
instruction,  is  of  minor  importance,  there  can  be  no  excuse 
for  the  neglect  it  at  present  suffers. 

Many  teachers  have  attempted  various  forms  of  com- 
promise, the  traditional  spelling  being  introduced  from  the 
start,  and  the  phonetic  used  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  con- 
currently, apparently  with  a  certain  measure  of  success, 
"To  be  sure  the  advantages  of  phonetical  transcription 
are  made  use  of  by  this  method;  several  teachers  have 
expressed  their  satisfaction  at  the  results  thus  obtained, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  they  are  better  than  when  phonetical 
transcription  is  dispensed  with.  However,  I  am  convinced 
that  by  this  method  it  is  difficult  sometimes  to  prevent 
the  less  intelligent  pupils  from  confusing  two  systems  of 


600  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

spelling,  so  that  they  neither  learn  the  pronunciation  nor 
the  orthography  very  well."^  But  the  chief  objection  to 
this  Mixed  method  is  that  which  has  already  been  made 
to  the  Nomic,  of  which,  in  fact,  it  retains  the  characteristic 
defect :  it  leaves  the  soiirce  of  error  nntonched. 

To  summarise.  A  good  pronunciation  can  ])e  gained 
only  by  careful  listening  to  a  good  pronunciation  followed 
by  repeated  imitation,  the  latter  being  materially  assisted 
by  diagrammatic  representation  of  the  relative  positions 
assumed  by  the  speech  organs  in  the  j)roduction  of  each 
sound.  As  the  introduction  of  the  traditional  spelling 
undoubtedly  tends  to  influence  unfavourably  the  newly 
acquired  pronunciation  of  the  learner,  time  and  labour 
will  be  saved  by  eliminating  the  disturbing  factor  alto- 
gether from  the  earlier  stages  of  instruction,  a  phonetic 
sci'ipt  being  substituted. 

The  requirements  of  pronunciation,  dominating  as  it 
does  the  Beginner's  Course  from  stai't  to 
(ii)  Beginner's  finish,  determines  both  what  vocabulary  is 
Vocabulary.  ^^  ^®  taught  in  it  and  the  method  of  teach- 
ing it,  for  which  reason  the  consideration  of 
the  former  finds  itself  deferred  to  this  stage.  Now,  if  a 
correct  accent  is  to  be  acquired  without  waste  of  time,  it  is 
self-evident  that  the  class  mi;st  hear  the  foreign  speech  as 
much  as  possible,  be  immersed  in  it  so  to  speak.  A  voca- 
bulary, therefore,  must  be  chosen  which  reduces  to  a 
minimum  the  necessary  use  of  the  mother  tongue.  It  is 
supplied  by  the  names  of  objects  actually  visible  to  the 
class,  that  is,  either  present  in  the  class-room  or  figured  in 
pictures,  to  wliich  must  be  added  the  terms  necessary  for 
the  conduct  of  the  lesson  in  the  foreign  tongue  itself.  The 
latter,  wliich   should  gradually  be  made  to  cover  all  the 

'  0.   .Tespersen,  TToiv  1o  Tench  a  Foreir/n  Language,  p.  170, 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  GOl 

incidental  intercourse  between  teacher  and  class  (explana- 
tion of  absence,  permission  to  go  out,  marking,  discipline, 
praise,  etc.),  are  of  especial  value,  for  not  only  do  tliey 
greatly  increase  the  possibilities  of  hearing  the  foreign 
language,  but  provide  as  well  a  thorough  grounding  in  a 
numl)er  of  useful  grammatical  forms  and  idioms,  e.g. 
dates,  interrogations,  imperatives  ;  in  addition  to  supplying 
material  that  will  serve  later  to  illustrate  grammatical 
points.  If,  for  instance,  the  rule  that  adjectives  of  colour 
follow  their  nouns  be  connected  in  the  minds  of  the  class 
with  the  familiar  word  fahleau  voir,  it  will  not  he  forgotten. 
Taught  only  when  wanted  for  immediate  use,  class-room 
terms  are  readily  learnt,  and  their  constant  recurrence 
fixes  them  permanently  upon  the  memory.  The  following- 
will  serve  as  an  example.  The  teacher,  beclconing  to  a 
pupil,  says  Viens  id  ■ — ;  then  giving  him  the  duster, 
and  pointing  to  the  board :  Essiiie  le  tablecm,  and,  holding 
out  a  hand:  Doime-moi  le  torchon.,  followed  by  Retourne 
a  ta  jylace,  a  little  personal  conducting,  if  necessary, 
making  this  clear  even  to  the  dullest.  At  first,  of  course, 
those  expressions  need  only  be  understood,  not  spoken  or 
written. 

The  subject-matter  of  the  pictures  should  be  such  as 
interests  the  pupils,  and  they  will  be  most  readily  interested 
by  that  which  combines  the  novel  with  the  familiar. 

The  method  of  instruction  need  only  lie  dealt  w4th  here 
shortly  and  with  a  view  chiefly  to  giving  a  complete  view 
of  the  Beginner's  Course.  The  various  problems  involved 
(direct  association,  etc.)  will  receive  detailed  treatment 
when  we  come  to  consider  the  subsequent  Course  based 
upon  the  reading-book. 

The  method  is  simphcity  itself.  The  teacher  j)oints  to 
an  object,  Buck,  has  the  name  repeated,  then  repeats  it  in 
sentence  form ;  Das  ist  em  Buch,  and  requires  the  same  in 


602  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

answer  to  a  question  :  Was  ist  das  ?  Oi'  he  attaches  the 
foreign  words  to  an  action  or  series  of  actions,  e.g.  J'onvre 
le  caliier.  Ouvrez  les  cahiers.  Quest-ce  que  vous  ouvrez  ? 
This  involves  so  far  nothing  more  than  luiderstanding  and 
repeating  set  phrases.  At  the  start  nothing  else  is  possible 
or  desirable,  but  the  process,  though  apparently  tedious, 
is  by  no  means  so  to  the  learner  when  the  object  and 
picture  method  is  used.  As  his  vocabulary  grows  it  be- 
comes possible,  with  a  little  ingenuity,  to  devise  a  number 
of  forms  of  practice  that  permit  him  to  use  the  words  he 
has  learnt  in  varying  contexts.  The  class,  for  example, 
knows  the  meaning  of  Le  papier-huvard  est  dans  le  caliier, 
le  caliier  est  sur  la  table,  and  is  able  to  give  these  in  answer 
to  Oio  est  le  papier-huvard ?  le  caliier?  The  teacher  takes 
any  other  object  of  which  the  name  has  been  taught,  e.g. 
the  ink-pot,  and  placing  it  on  the  caliier,  asks  0(6  est 
Vencrier?  Then,  placing  the  pen  in  the  ink-pot :  Oa  est 
la  plume?  thus  building  iip  a  series  which  can  be  recon- 
structed in  a  variety  of  forms.  Here  the  pupil  does  not 
merely  imitate.  He  has  each  time  to  judge  whether  dans 
or  SMr  has  to  be  used.  Or,  again,  associating  word  and 
action  :  Icli  gelie  an  die  Tiir,  ich  ma  die  die  Tiir  zu,  etc.  Was 
tue  ich  ?  each  answer  in  the  series  requiring  an  alteration 
of  person,  which  must  be  made  by  the  pupil  himself. 
These  examples  mark  the  first  step  in  the  gradual  transi- 
tion from  the  purely  imitative  to  the  free  use  of  the 
language,  which  goes  on  developing  itself  throughout  all 
the  stages  of  the  Linguistic  Coiirse,  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  classes.^ 

Parallel  with  the  development  of  the  pupil's  abihty  to 
use  the  language  is  the  ever-growing  facility  he  acquires  in 
imderstanding  what  is  said  to  him.     This  comes  as  a  result 

1  For  further  examijles  see  the  writer's  French  Lesson  Notes 
(A.  and  C.  Black). 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COtTRSE.  603 

of  being  trained  to  listen  carefully  to  questions  in  order 
not  only  to  understand  them,  but  to  acquire  material  for 
the  answer.  For  instance,  the  question  is  :  A  quelle  heure 
es-tu  sorti  cle  cliez  toi  ce  matin?  The  j)upil  who  has  been 
taught  to  listen  will  note  tliat  sortir  is  conjugated  with 
etre,  and  that  one  says  Je  chez  in  this  context,  not  chez 
only  ;  and  he  will  frame  his  answer  accordingly.  Nothing 
is  more  important  in  learning  a  language  than  the  habit  of 
careful  listening. 

Even  at  this  early  stage  it  will  be  found  possible  to 
teach  new  words  tlu*ougli  the  foreign  tongue  itself,  e.g. 
Paris  est  nne  ville,  Calais  est  une  ville,  Londres  est  une  ville, 
etc.,  Qu'est-ce  que  Paris  ?  Berlin  ?  Brest  ?  etc.  Then  the 
plural  Paris  et  Calais  sont  des  villes,  etc.,  Qu'est-ce  qtie  Bor- 
deatix  et  Marseille  ?  On  the  other  hand,  time  and  trouble 
are  sometimes  saved,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  class-room 
terms,  by  beginning  v^dth  the  use  of  the  mother  tongue, 
e.g.  "  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  put  away  your  things." — 
Serrez  vos  affaires.  In  this  and  many  similar  cases,  it  is 
with  the  action  and  not  tlie  native  equivalent  that  the 
expression  is  virtually  associated. 

The  little  grammar  which  is  required  at  tliis  stage  will 
be  taught  by  the  inductive  method  to  l)e  explained  later. 
Written  work  will  take  the  form  of  copying  new  words 
both  into  the  note-books  and  into  the  sound  columns,  and 
such  simple  tests  as  Ecrivez  axipluriel:  Paris  est  une  ville 
or  dictations.^ 

The  Beginner's  Course  is  allowed  to  pass  into  the  main 

Linguistic   Course  when  a  hal)it    of  correct 

(ui)  The  Reader  pj.Qjj^jj^(,ig^^-Q^     Y^^^      -[^^^^     formed      strong 

Interpretation,  enough  to  remove  the  only  obstacle  to  our 
placing  in  the  hands    of   the    class   a   first 
reading-book  printed  in  the   traditional  script.      In  this 
'  Pp.  642- 045, 


604  THE    TEACHING    OP    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

reading-boolc  an<T  its  sequels  tlie  whole  teaching  of  the 
Course  is  made  to  centre. 

The  method  of  the  "  reader  as  centre  "  has  found  favour 
for  the  following  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  the  interpre- 
tation of  a  text  written  to  say  sometliing  in  itself  interest- 
ing provides  an  end  far  more  obviously  worth  striving  after 
than  did  the  translation  of  the  old  familiar  assortments  of 
disconnected  phrases  invented  solely  to  illustrate  grammar. 
Secondly,  the  fact  of  the  grammar  following  instead  of 
determining  the  text  ensures  that  the  points  Avhich  are  the 
most  important,  that  is,  Avhich  occur  most  often,  shall 
receive  the  most  attention.  It  has  in  actual  practice  revo- 
lutionised our  ideas  as  to  the  relative  value  of  grammatical 
forms,  and  also  as  to  the  order  in  Avhich  they  shall  be 
taught.  Thirdly,  the  method  instead  of  dividing  attention 
between  two  or  three  independent  sets  of  vocabulary 
(grammar-book,  exercise-book,  reading-book),  none  com- 
pletely studied,  concentrates  it  upon  one,  which  is  taught 
in  all  its  forms,  oral  and  written,  idiomatic  and  gram- 
matical, l)y  a  connected  series  of  steps  proceeding  to  a 
definite  end.  We  seek  to  apj^ly  to  the  art  of  constructing  a 
lesson  the  same  principle  of  unity  that  governs  the  making 
of  a  great  picture,  symphony,  or  l)oolc.  A  curriculum, 
course,  or  even  a  single  lesson  perfectly  composed  is  itself  a 
work  of  art  second  to  none. 

Each  lesson  leased  upon  the  reader  has  three  chief 
steps  :  (1)  the  interpretation  of  the  text  whether  read  or 
heard,  (2)  the  discussion  of  the  subject-matter  when 
thought  desirable,'  and  (3)  the  use  in  speaicin^  and  writing 
of  the  vocabulary  acquired.  It  is  with  the  first  that  we  are 
now  concerned. 

Let  us  assume,  then,  in  the  hands  of  the  class  a  reading- 

1  )See  §  4  (ii),  pp.  oTo-iiTS. 


Method  tit  the  linguistic!  course.  605 

book  of  the  kind  described  iu  §  4  (i),  graduated  witli  suffi- 
cient care  to  ensure  that  only  a  limited  number  of  new 
words  are  likely  to  occur  in  each  lesson.  The  teacher  or  a 
pupil  begins  by  reading,  with  special  attention  to  pronun- 
ciation and  elocution,  the  whole  or  any  convenient  portion 
of  the  passage  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  lesson,  and 
which  may  vary  in  length  from  a  half  to  three  or  more 
pages,  according  as  to  whether  we  have  in  mind  a  class  at 
the  beginning  or  end  of  the  Course.  During  the  reading, 
and  even  until  towards  the  end  of  the  lesson,  the  books  of 
the  class  may  remain  closed,  being  opened  only  for  a  final 
reading.  This  method  has  the  advantage  both  of  accus- 
toming the  class  to  listen  carefully  to  the  foreign  language 
and  of  serving  as  an  exercise  in  understanding  it  when 
spoken. 

The  first  reading  gives  the  pupils  an  opportunity  of 
trying  to  grasp  the  general  sense.  On  the  second  or  third 
a  pause  is  made  at  the  end  of  each  sentence,  and  those  avIio 
think  they  have  not  vmderstood  say  so.  This  brings  us  to 
the  question  as  to  how  the  meaning  of  the  new  words  is  to 
be  made  clear,  and  how  the  teacher  is  to  assure  himself  that 
all  have  understood. 

In  many  cases  the  sense  is  suggested  by  the  context.  For 
instance  :  in  "  La  France  a  quatre  ^ninds  Jleuves  :  la  Seine, 
la  Loire,  la  Graronne,  le  Ehone.  La  Seine  prend  sa  source 
dans  le  plateau  de  la  Cote  d"Or.  ..."  The  meanings  of 
jieiive  and  prend  sa  source,  assumed  to  be  occurring  for  the 
first  time,  will  be  evident  to  most  piipils,  the  teacher  having 
only  to  malie  sure  they  are  known,  which  he  can  do  either 
by  having  them  translated  or  by  such  questions  as  Citez  le 
nom  d'un  jleuve.  Qu  est -de  que  la  Seine?  la  Tamise  ?  The 
sentence  La  Seine  prend  sa  source  .  .  .  could  be  para- 
phrased, e.g.  La  Seine  a  sa  source  .  .  .,  or  La  source  de  la 
Seine  est  dans  ....  The  possibility  of  reaching  the  sense 


606  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

of  a  word  tlirougli  its  context  increases  of  course  witli  the 
growth  of  the  pupils'  vocabulary,  and  in  the  later  stages  it 
acquires  the  importance  it  has  in  the  native  tongue. 

When  the  context  fails  to  make  clear  the  sense,  it  is 
usually  explained  (1)  by  translation,  (2)  by  explanation  in 
the  foreign  language  itself,  or  (3)  by  performing  an  action 
or  showing  an  object  or  a  picture,  a  rough  drawing  on  the 
board  often  sufficing. 

The  simplest  is  the  first,  and  it  generally  takes  the  fonn 
of  having  the  whole  passage  translated.  If  done  without 
care,  it  is  a  most  imdesirable  exercise  in  dog-English.  If 
done  with  great  cai'e,  the  result,  though  highly  stimulating, 
supposing  the  class  advanced  enough  to  profit,  oversteps  the 
end  here  in  view,  which  is  to  discover  the  sense  and  not  the 
most  irrepi'oachable  f  orni  of  giving  it  expression  in  English. 
If  done  with  ordinary  care,  translation  undoubtedly  suffices, 
except  in  the  case  of  words  representing  objects  and  ideas 
unknown  to  the  class,  to  make  clear  the  sense  of  any  foreign 
expression  for  the  purposes  of  the  particular  context  in 
Avhich  it  occurs.  It  is,  moreover,  the  only  practical  means 
available  in  the  case  of  many  abstract  words,  e.g.  Gerech- 
tiykeit,  justice,  and  even  in  the  case  of  some  concrete  Avords, 
e.g.  pinson,  a  chaffinch.  The  definition  Petit  oiseau  chanteur 
de  Vordre  des  imssereaux  (Larousse)  is  not  illuminating, 
and  a  pictiire  of  the  bird,  even  if  well  done,  might  be  mis- 
taken for  something  else  ;  in  a  town  school  possibly  for  a 
spaiTow  or  a  crow.  It  is  true  that  if  the  bird  itself  were 
iinknown,  translation  would  prove  equally  ineffective.  The 
teacher  would  then,  in  this  and  like  cases,  have  to  con- 
sider Avhether  it  was  worth  while  to  go  into  a  detailed 
explanation  of  the  term.  We  may,  however,  conclude  that, 
as  a  means  of  interpretation,  translation  does  for  all  prac- 
tical piirposes  suffice.  But  whether  or  not  it  is  better  than 
the  object  method  or  explanation  in  the  foreign  tongue 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE,  607 

does  not  depend  solely  upon  its  efficacy  in  making-  clear  the 
sense.  The  learner  has  not  only  to  understand  bnt  also 
to  remember.  The  meaning  of  a  new  word  must  be  im- 
pressed upon  his  mind  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  its  recall, 
when  the  word  again  occurs,  as  certain  as  possible.  V.^o 
must,  therefore,  compare  the  three  methods  in  respect  to 
their  value  for  memory. 

Now  ability  to  recollect,  whether  in  respect  to  things  or 
xoords,  depends  primarily  upon  the  inborn  power  of  reten- 
tiveness,  which  varies  not  only  in  degree  but  in  kind  from 
individual  to  individual.  Some  recall  things  seen  better 
than  those  heard,  touched,  or  acted,  others  have  the  visual 
memory  weak  as  compared  with  the  auditory  or  motor, 
some  lack  one  form  altogether.  The  visiial  type  is  pro- 
bably the  most  common,  though  subject  to  great  differ- 
ences in  character  and  strength.  In  the  case  of  words 
thei'e  seems  no  longer  any  doubt  that,  for  the  vast  majority, 
the  process  of  recall  takes  the  form  either  of  mental  audi- 
tion or  incipient  articulation,  or  both  concurrently  in  vaiy- 
ing  degrees.  In  silent  thought  most  of  us  are,  in  fact, 
more  or  less  distinctly  conscious  of  hearing  or  uttei'ing  our 
words.  The  visual  memoiy  for  word  images  is  less  common 
and  varies  greatly  in  different  persons,  some  possessing  a 
remarkable  power  of  visualisation,  being  able,  as  Galton 
has  shown,  to  "see  mentally  in  print  every  word  that  is 
uttered ;  they  attend  to  the  visual  equivalent,  and  not  to 
the  sound  of  the  words,  and  they  read  them  off  visually  as 
from  a  long  strip  of  paper."  Such  persons  may  indeed 
habitually  think  in  typographic  images.^ 

^  For  the  summary  contained  in  this  paragraph  the  writer  is 
cliiefly  indebted  to  Dr.  F.  W.  Mott,  F.R.S.,  Patliologist  to  the 
London  County  Asyhims.  In  the  same  connection  may  be  read  an 
interesting  article  in  Modern  Lnnguaye  Teachiny  (Jan.  1908),  by 
Professor  Welton,  who  classes  liimself  among  those  "who  can  get  no 


608  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES, 

For  the  teaclier  the  important  point  to  grasp  is  that,  in 
any  given  class-room,  each  of  the  above-mentioned  types 
with  their  innumerable  intermediate  varieties  is  likely  to 
be  represented,  and  that  care  must,  therefore,  be  taken  to 
give  due  attention  to  the  claims  of  all.  And,  further,  as 
in  word  memoiy  the  auditory  and  motor  forms  predomin- 
ate, he  must  recognise  the  paramount  importance  of  listen- 
ing and  speaking,  in  other  words  of  the  oral  method. 

Let  us  apply  these  conclusions  to  a  particular  case,  for 
instance,  to  the  sentence  Bayard  couriit  se  mettre  a  V entree 
(hi  ]Jont  occurring  in  the  story  of  how  the  French  hero 
kept  a  bridge  single-handed  against  a  troop  of  Spanish 
cavalry,  and  containing  the  new  word  pout,  which  has  to 
be  interpreted.  To  begin  with  we  may  safely  conclude 
that  the  word  2>orit  itself  should  be  both  heard  and  seen, 
spoken  and  written.  But  this  precaution  can  be  taken 
Avhatever  method  of  explaining  the  meaning  associated  with 
it  be  employed.  As  it  happens  to  be  a  concrete  term,  all 
three  are  possible,  assuming  that  in  the  second  here  given 
the  words  are  known  to  the  class  : 

Pont  by  (a)  "  bridge." 

(h)  "  construction  servant  a  traverser  un  cours 

d'eau." 
(c)  Picture  of  a  bridge,  preferably  as  part  of  a 
pictxxre  illustrating  the  historic  incident. 

It  is,  at  least,  certain  that  the  picture  (c)  will  prove  the 
most  effective  in  stamping  the  meanimj  on  the  minds  of 


visual  image  whatever,  either  of  thing  or  word."  Those  wishing  to 
know  more  of  the  subject  should  read  the  works  of  S.  Strieker,  G. 
Ballet,  W.  Wundt  (Die  Sprache),  V.  Egger  {La  Parole  inUrieure), 
and  F.  Galton,  etc.  As  far  as  the  localisation  of  articulate  speech 
is  concerned,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  views  on  the  subject 
are  undergoing  revision.  The  latest  work  is  Montier's  Aphasie  de 
Broca  (Paris). 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  609 

tlie  visual  types.  It  is  j^robable,  moreover,  that  showing 
the  picture  will  prove  more  effective  thau  requiring  the 
pupil  to  visualise  a  bridge,  for,  except  in  abnormal  cases, 
the  picture  will  give  a  clearer  impression  than  a  revived 
mental  image.  But  neither  the  picture  nor  the  mental 
image  can  be  of  any  special  value  in  the  case  of  pupils  in 
whom  the  power  to  recall  visual  impressions  is  weak  or 
absent,  a  fact  which,  it  may  be  worth  noting,  was  over- 
looked in  the  ^psychology  of  Gouin. 

The  question  of  the  relative  value  of  the  two  verbal 
forms  {a,  b)  of  interpreting  powf,  regarded  as  means  of 
impressing  the  meaning  of  this  word  on  the  mind,  depends 
largely,  whatever  he  the  type  of  memorij,  upon  the  amount  of 
meaning  they  respectively  summon  to  consciousness.  This 
is  ultimately  limited,  of  course,  in  the  case  of  each  indi- 
vidual by  his  previous  experience.  The  thing  and  conse- 
quently the  word  bridge  have,  for  instance,  a  much  fuller 
meaning  for  an  engineer  than  for  the  man-in-the-street, 
and  moi-e  for  the  latter  than  for  a  child.  And  they  will 
mean  something  diiferent  to  each  of  three  individuals 
having  different  memory  types.  But  in  none  of  these 
cases  will  the  use  of  the  word  be  accompanied  by  the  full 
re-instatement  of  its  meaning  except  as  a  result  of  deliberate 
effort.  And,  generally  speaking,  there  will  not  be  even 
pai-tial  re-instatement,  the  word  being  used  as  a  label  for 
its  content.  We,  in  fact,  habitually  read,  write,  speak,  and 
hear  words  vrithout  thinking  of  their  meaning.  This  being 
so,  there  is  always  the  danger  that  translation,  e.g.  "  jjonf^ 
=  "bridge,''  "wdll  resiilt  in  a  purely  mechanical  association 
of  two  symbols.  In  the  case  of  a  type  of  mind  able  to 
retain  such  mechanical  associations  no  great  harm  will  have 
been  done,  but  this  type  can  hardly  be  common.  The  danger 
is  least  likely  to  be  serious  when  the  word  is  met  with  as 
part  of  a  context  which  arrests  attention.     For  instance,  in 

PE.  TG.  39 


610  THE    TEACHING    OF    MOUERN    LANGUAGES. 

order  to  understand  why  Bayard  should  run  to  post  himself 
on  the  bridge  instead  of  awaiting  the  onset  in  the  open,  one 
must  realise  to  some  extent  the  structure  and  position  of  the 
thing  represented  by  bridge,  in  other  words  its  meaning. 
The  danger  is  most  to  be  feared  when  lists  of  detached 
words  and  phrases  in  two  languages  are  learnt  side  by  side. 
It  practically  ceases  to  exist  when,  instead  of  translation, 
explanation  in  the  foreign  tongue  (or  the  native)  is  used. 
The  form  "  construction  servant  a  traverser  im  cours 
d'eau,"  whether  accompanied  by  "bridge"  or  not,  does  by 
its  form  and  its  novelty  cause  partial  re-instatement  of  the 
meaning.  In  any  case,  whether  translation  or  definition 
be  used  in  the  first  place,  it  is  always  possible  to  elicit  a 
fuller  meaning  simply  by  questioning  or  by  collecting  and 
comparing  the  contexts  of  a  word.  To  this  we  shall  revert 
later.^  For  the  moment  it  is  enough  to  note  that,  if  no 
such  questioning  follows,  the  meaning  of  a  new  foreign 
word  is  more  likely  to  be  impressed  upon  the  mind  by 
definition  than  by  translation. 

The  power  of  recalling  anything  depends  upon  not  only 
the  degree  and  kind  of  native  retentiveness,  but  also  the 
amount  of  interest  attaching  to  the  first  impression, — the 
greater  the  interest  aroused,  the  greater  the  attention 
bestowed.  This  interest  may  be  either  due  to  the  inherent 
attraction,  just  noted,  that  a  given  impression  has  for  a 
particular  type  of  memory,  in  which  case  it  will  be  limited 
to  the  individuals  predisposed  to  experience  it,  or  it  may 
arise  from  the  related  circumstances,  and  make  a  wider 
appeal.  Thus  the  recollection  of  a  word's  meaning  will  be 
aided  by  the  interest  felt  in  the  text  of  which  the  word  is  a 
part.  The  greater  the  interest,  the  closer  the  attention 
given,  and  the  stronger  the  impression  left  upon  the  mind. 

^  See  5  (iv)  under  Questioning  on  the  context  of  a  xoord  (p.  620), 
and  Questioniny  on  the  vieaninrf  of  a  icord  (p.  621 ). 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COUKSE.  611 

For  instance,  the  meauiug-  of  the  word  iwnt,  met  with 
a  second  time  and  recognised,  will  be  more  readily  remem- 
bered if  the  first  context  is  recalled,  and  with  it  the  story 
of  Bayard  holding  the  bridge.  Hence,  as  ali'eady  noted, 
the  importance  of  learning  vocabulary  from  a  text  written 
to  say  something  in  itself  interesting.  Hence  also  the 
value  of  the  well-known  quest ionnaires  on  the  text,  for  Ihey 
seiwe  still  further  to  impress  the  context  of  a  word  on  the 
miiid. 

Interest  may  be  gained  or  lost  as  a  result  not  only  of  the 
nature  of  the  context  but  of  the  method  itself.  Whatever 
may  be  said,  for  instance,  in  favour  of  translation  treated 
as  an  occasional  exercise  in  style,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  when  used  exclusively  and  persistently  as  a  means  of 
interpretation,  it  fails  to  maint?  in  interest  merely  l)y  reason 
uf  its  slowness  and  monotony.  Hence  the  wretched  results 
it  produced.  The  use  of  the  other  two  methods  of 
interpretation  introduces  a  welcome  variety,  each,  more- 
over, being  in  itself  more  interesting  than  the  construe. 

Subject,  therefore,  to  verification  by  experiment,  Ave  may 
conclude  that,  if  the  three  methods  of  interpretation  are 
compared,  explanation  by  ol)ject  or  definition  in  the  foreign 
language  itself  is  as  a  rule  supei'ior  to  translation  as  a 
means  of  ensuring  that  the  first  impression  made  upon  the 
mind  shall  be  as  strong  as  possiljlo. 

Facility  in  understanding  a  foreign  language  depends, 
further,  upon  the  creation  of  what  is  known  as  the  direct 
connection  ;  the  learner  must  not  only  associate  the  foreign 
word  and  its  meaning,  liut  must  do  so  in  such  a  way  that 
the  one  recalls  the  other  without  the  intervention  of  the 
native  word.  He  must  acquire  the  ability  to  grasp  the 
sense  of  what  is  heard  or  read  in  the  foreign,  as  he  grasps 
it  in  his  mother  tongue.  If  unable  to  do  this,  if  con- 
tinuously  and    consciously   translating,    progress   Avill   be, 


G12  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

relatively  speaking,  both  slow  and  laborious,  as  anyone 
wUl  find  wlio  puts  tlie  matter  to  a  practical  test.  Habitual 
translation  binders  the  end  we  have  in  view,  wbicli  is  to 
make  tlie  reading  of  good  foreign  literature  as  easy  and 
pleasant  as  that  of  our  own  masterpieces.  We  have,  there- 
fore, to  consider  how  far  the  direct  connection  is  helped  or 
hindered  by  the  three  methods  of  interpretation  under 
discussion. 

It  is  immediately  created  only  when  the  new  word  is 
attached  to  the  actual  object,  e.g.  encrier  to  some  inkpot 
in  the  class-room,  or  Ich  gehe  an  die  Tilr  to  the  correspond- 
ing action.  The  process  that  takes  place  when  translation 
or  definition  are  used  may  be  illustrated  as  follows : — 

A.  1.  Le  loiip  s'habillait  en  berger. 

(  2.  celui  qui  garde  les  moutous. 

( 3.  shepherd. 

4.  The  meaning. 

B.  1.  II  u"y  a  pas  de  petit  chez  soi. 

(  2.  On  est  mieux  chez  soi  que  chez  les  autres. 
(.  3.  There  is  no  place  like  home, 
•i.  Meaning. 

In  example  A  the  word  herger  has  to  be  explained,  in  B 
the  whole  sentence.  In  both,  the  explanations  (2,  3), 
whichever  be  used,  carry  with  them  a  certain  amount  of 
meaning  (4),  varying  in  kind  and  degree  with  the  individual 
learner.  They  link  this  meaning  to  the  French  word  or 
phrase  (1).  Unless,  however,  the  mental  link  (be  it  2  or  3) 
is  maintained  by  persistent  re^jetition,  it  must  tend  to  dis- 
appear of  itself,  for  the  simple  reason  that  its  presence  is 
not  essential;  the  word  berger  and  the  phrase  II  ny  a  pas 
de  petit  chez  soi  sufficing  to  perform  in  the  foreign  speech 
the  function  their  equivalents  perform  in  the  native,  that 
of  labels  for  their  content.     If,    therefore,    the   indirect 


METHOD    IN    THK    LINGUISTIO    COURSE.  01  o 

connection  is  not  deliberately  rendered  habitual,  it  will 
naturally  perish  from  disuse,  whetlier  the  method  of  inter- 
pretation adopted  be  definition  or  translation.  In  respect 
to  the  latter  let  ns  note,  then,  that  the  fact  of  its  being 
employed  to  explain  new  words  does  not  exclude  sub- 
sequent dii-ect  association,  which  can,  in  fact,  very  readily 
be  created,  provided  the  translation  is  not  repeated,  except 
as  a  test,  when  once  it  has  served  its  purpose  of  inter- 
pretation. 

The  same  applies  to  the  mental  translation  that  may 
occui*  when  a  non-translation  method  is  used,  as,  for 
example,  when  the  thing  handkerchief  has  been  used  to 
explain  mouchoir,  and  the  word  handkerchief  rises  to  the 
pupil's  mind.  To  what  extent  this  occurs  is  unknown. 
In  any  case  it  is  unimportant,  the  more  so  as  the 
native  word  does  not  in  this  case  intervene;  it  supervenes. 
The  order  is  not  mouchoir -^  ha ndJcer chief -\- thing,  but 
mouchoir  +  thing  +  handlcer chief .  The  last  falls  away 
of  its  owm  accord,  if  not  pm-posely  revived  as  part  of  the 
process. 

The  three  methods  have  been  compared  in  respect  to 
their  value  for  intei-pretation,  for  the  first  impression  upon 
memory,  and  for  direct  association.  It  remains  to  be  asked 
which  leads  to  the  greatest  possible  use  of  the  foreign 
language  in  the  class-room,  it  being  obvious  that  the  more 
it  is  used,  the  quicker  it  will  be  learnt.  The  answer  at  once 
diminishes  the  relative  importance  of  translation ;  and 
unless  investigation  shows  that  it  has  a  definite  value 
for  some  type  of  memory,  not  equally  conferred  by  ex- 
planation in  the  foreign  tongue,  which  is  unlikely,  it 
follows  that  its  use  must  at  this  stage  of  the  teaching- 
be  limited  to  the  amount  unavoidable  for  purposes  of 
interpretation. 

As  the  use  that  can  he  made  of  pictures,  objects,  or 


C14  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

actions  in  connection  -with  a  reading-book  is  relatively  very 
restricted,'  chief  importance  must  be  attached  to  explana- 
tion in  the  foreign  tongue  itself.  The  extent  to  which  it 
can  be  vised  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  vocabulary  avail- 
able, i.e.  known  to  the  pupil,  the  amoiuit  growing  at  each 
stage  of  his  pi'ogress.  It  depends  also  upon  the  persever- 
ance of  the  teacher.  "  It  makes  all  the  difference  whether 
one's  ideal  is  to  use  the  mother  tongue  '  as  little  as  possible,' 
or  '  whenever  it  seems  necessary.'  If  one  does  not  aim  at 
avoiding  it,  one  does  not  discover  all  the  ways  there  are  of 
avoiding  it."" 

The  following  is  a  brief  summary,  with  examples,  taken 
from  the  writer's  lessons  :  (1)  simple  definition,  e.g. 
veuf  =  celui  qui  a  perdu  sa  femme;  argent  gaspille 
=  argent  de])ens('  foUement ;  hianchir  (cheveux)  =  devenir 
Mane ;  poTit  (vaisseau)  =  pUmclier  d'nn  vaisseau ;  canot 
^i^  petit  bateau  sans  pont ;  (2)  synonym  and  antonym: 
jadis  =  autrefois  ;  '  hisser  la  voile '  =  le  contraire  de 
'  descendre  la  voile  ' ;  (3)  example,  e.g.  ecrire,  e.g.  on  ecrit 
avec  une  phtme ;  (4)  reference  to  corresponding  parts  of 
speech,  e.g.  suhst.  honte,  adj.  hon,  or  honte  =  qualite  de 
celui  qui  est  bon  j)o?/>'  les  aidres ;  svbst.  prise,  verhe 
pirendre ;  (5)  reference  to  a  previous  context.  The  follow- 
ing example  given  by  Dr.  Max  Walter  from  his  own 
experience  will  exemplify  both  this  and  the  second : 
Orgueil — L'adjectif  qui  correspond  au  suhstantif  orgueil 
est     orgiieillenx.      Le    mot    orgueillenx    est    synonyme    de 

'  Tliose  who  favoiu"  tlie  use  of  action  and  dramatic  gesture  will 
find  this  method  of  interpretation  fully  dealt  with  in  M.  Ch. 
Schweitzer's  MHhodologie  des  Langues  Vivantes  (Colin,  Paris) 

-  ^Ir.  L.  von  Glehn,  speaking  of  the  results  of  his  experience  at 
the  Perse  School,  Cambridge,  one  of  the  few  in  this  country  at 
which  modern  language  teaching  has  been  organised  on  reform  lines 
(Modern  Language  Teaching,  Marcli  1908). 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE,  615 

Vadjeetif  fier  que  vans  connaissez  deja  et  qt(e  vous  retrotivez 
dans  la  2'n^irase  suivante  :  Les  Ganlois  etaient  si  fiers  .  .  .  .  ' 

The  above  examples  serve  also  to  illustrate  the  important 
fact  that  the  method  of  explaining  new  words  in  the  foreign 
tongue  itself  has  the  additional  merit  of  providing  not  only 
easy  exercises  in  understanding  the  spoken  language,  but  a 
means  of  re-practising  a  number  of  words  in  fresh  contexts, 
and  incidentally  also  of  practising  in  the  best  way  possible, 
namely,  for  immediate  use,  a  number  of  idiomatic  and 
grammatical  expressions,  for  instance,  cehii  qui  and  celle 
qui  in  connection  with  veuf,  veuve,  or  servir  a  with 
Le  casque  sert  a  proteger  la  tete,  I'epee  ....  These  and 
other  forms  occur  so  frequently  that  they  are  learnt  almost 
unconsciously,  as  are  the  expressions  used  for  the  conduct 
of  the  lesson  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made. 

An  occasional  method  of  interpretation  may  here  be 
noted  which,  judiciously  used,  provides  a  strong  aid  to 
recollection,  the  etymological,  e.g.  Vote — du  latin  via;  cf.  via 
Newhaven  and  Dieppe ;  pate — en  ancien  fran(jais  paste, 
d'ou  I'anglais  paste,  rade — emprunte  de  I'ancien  anglais 
rade,  aujoui'd'hxii  road,  employe  dans  le  sens  de  "  a  place 
where  ships  ride  at  anchor."  Again,  "  children  soon 
observe  the  permutation  of  letters,  e.g.  e  for  s  initial  (etable, 
etrange),  g  or  gu  for  ^v  {guerre,  guepe') — so  that,  later  on,  the 
more  advanced  student  practised  in  this  sees  at  once  scaffold 
in  ecliafaud,  wicket  in  guichet,  and  even  starling  in  etour- 
neau.'"'  Used  thus,  as  a  means  of  instruction,  and  not  as 
an  end  in  itself,  etymology  finds  its  legitimate  place  in  the 
school  course. 

'  Aneignung  und  Verarheitiing  des  Wortscliatzes,  p.  18  (N.  G. 
Ehvert,  Marburg),  in  which  many  visef  ul  practical  hints  will  be  found. 

-  Mrs.  L.  C.  Miall  in  My  Little  French  Class,  an  article  in  Vol.  I., 
No.  8,  of  Modem  Language  Teaching  (December  1905).  The  ex- 
amples quoted  are  from  actual  experience. 


616  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

When  the  passage  tliat  forms  tlie  basis  of  the  lesson  has 
been  interpreted  by  one  or  other  of  the  means  above  men- 
tioned, the  teacher  may  still  be  in  dotibt  as  to  whether 
every  pupil  has  understood  not  the  text  only,  but  the 
foreign  explanations  used.  "With  large  classes,  or  those 
into  which  new  comers,  knowing  little  or  notliing  of  the 
subject,  have  been  drafted  after  the  course  has  been  begun 
some  time,  a  test  translation  of  the  whole  passage  may  be 
necessary,  especially  when  time  is  limited.  Translation  is 
an  effective  check,  but  it  is  by  no  means  the  only  one,  and 
should  not  be  employed  imless  strictly  necessary.  The 
following  are  a  few  examples  of  ways  of  avoiding  it.  The 
teacher  asks:  Que  sicpiifie  idle  mot  pont  ?  Pupil:  Plancher 
cVim  vaisseau.  The  teacher  :  Montrez  le  plancher  de  cette 
salle.  Or  again :  Que  veut  dire  le  mot  gaspiller?  Pupil: 
depenser  follement.  The  teacher :  Quest-ce  quil  ne  fant 
pas  deptenser  follement '?  Combien  d' argent  avez-vous  de- 
pense  cette  semaine?  Qu' avez-vous  achete?  Quel  est 
Vadjectif  correspondant  a  follement?  Citez  le  contraire 
du  mot  fou,  du  mot  follement.  The  invention  of  devices 
of  this  kind  becomes  easy  with  practice,  and  they  pro^dde, 
once  more,  excellent  practice  of  "the  old  in  the  new." 

The  interpretation  of  the  text  on  the  lines  here  described 
is  best  done  under  the  supervision  of  the  teacher.  If  the 
pupil  is  left  to  "  hammer  it  out  himself,"  he  is  tempted  to 
rely  too  much  upon  notes,  the  bi-lingual  dictionary  or 
weak  parents,  and  also  to  do  the  work  without  care.  The 
latter  proceeding  may,  of  course,  bring  retribution,  and 
necessitate  doing  the  work  over  again.  Justice  may  be 
satisfied,  but,  on  the  other  liand,  we  shall  be  defeating  the 
chief  end  we  have  in  view,  which,  once  more,  is  to  create 
an  interest  that  shall  endure.  In  both  the  elementary  and 
the  middle  forms  this  part  of  the  work  had  best  be  done 
in  the  class-room,  all  the  pupils  cooperating,  the  teacher 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  617 

gmding,  inspiring,  and  using  judicious  praise  and  blame 
to  stimulate  the  indolent  into  self-activity.  Revision  can, 
of  course,  be  done  at  home.  In  the  middle  forms  uni- 
lingual  dictionaries  can  be  put  in  the  hands  of  the  pupils, 
who  will  use  them  to  find  out  the  meaning  of  the  new 
words,  the  teacher  simplifying  or  translating  where  neces- 
sary. In  the  upper  forms  the  same  dictionaries  can  be 
used  to  prepare  the  work  at  home,  pupils  simply  leaving, 
till  they  come  to  class,  words  that  they  have  not  been  al)le 
to  interpret.^ 

What  has  been  said  of  the  methods  of  interpreting  the 
foreign  language  heard  or  read  applies  with  equal  force  to 
the  reverse  process,  that  of  teaching  the  foreign  words 
necessary  to  speak  or  write.  Examples  were  given  in 
explaining  the  method  of  the  beginners'  course. 

An  additional  argument  often  urged  against  the  use  of 
translation  as  a  means  of  teaching  foreign  expressions, 
that  may  here  be  noticed,  is  that  it  leads  the  learner  to 
construct  the  foreign  sentence  on  the  model  of  the  native. 
An  example  of  this  is  j)rovided  by  the  following  exhorta- 
tion uttered  in  the  course  of  an  impassioned  address  by  a 
Scotch  minister  to  a  French  congregation  :  Buvez  Veau  de 
vie,  mes  frh'es,  hiivez  Veau  de  vie!  His  mistake,  however, 
was  due  not  to  translation,  but  mistranslation.  He  would 
not  have  given  such  intemperate  advice  if  he  had  learnt 
iha  correct  foreign  equivalent  for  "  Drink  the  water  of 
life,"  or  even  if,  in  this  particular  case,  he  had  known  a 

'  For  the  results  of  manj-  j-eai-s'  experience  with  uni-lingual  dic- 
tionaries see  Dr.  Walter's  Zur  Methodik  des  neuspracJdichen  Un- 
terriclits,  p.  31.  The  best  French  dictionary  for  the  purpose  is  Le 
Petit  Laroiisse  lUustH  (1664  pp.,  5-0),  or  the  smaller  Dictionnaire 
complet  iUiistr6  (1404  pp.,  3-50),  both  published  by  the  Lihrairie 
Larousse  (Paris).  The  best  German  dictionary  is  Hoffmann's 
Worterhuch,  4s. 


618  THE    TEACHINa    OF    MODEKN    LANGUAGES. 

little  elementaiT  grammar.  What  has  to  be  avoided  is 
giving  the  learner  opportunities  for  mistranslation.  This 
was  a  common  vice  at  all  stages  of  the  so-called  old 
method.  A  book  of  disconnected  English  sentences  or 
continuous  prose  passages  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
class,  which  was  left  to  turn  the  same  into  the  foreign 
language  with  the  aid  of  dictionary  and  grammar.  The 
results  were  appalling,  foi-  the  learner,  not  having  the 
grasp  of  idiom  that  comes  from  much  reading  and 
frequent  usage,  had  to  depend  upon  more  or  less  hteral 
and  grammatical  translation.  The  following  are  examples 
of  just  the  mistakes  even  a  conscientious  pupil  will 
make  under  such  conditions  : — 

Un  join-  une  piece  de  I'arbre  fut  vvie  coupee  par  un 
canif. 

lis  ressemblerent  I'un  a  I'aiitre  plus  que  frcres  firent 
(did)  usuellement. 

L'empereur  fut  e tonne  au  vieillard  parlant  si  bien. 

L'empereur  desirait  savoir  si  elle  etait  aussi  avisee  que 
iepaysan  avait  dit. 

This  method  of  building  up  a  language  on  a  basis  of 
blunders  is  not  only  very  circuitous  but  generally  ineffec- 
tive. The  blunder,  wliich  has  cost  the  learner  some  mental 
effort  to  make,  will  persist  after  the  correction  has  been 
forgotten.  Anyone  who  takes  the  trouble  to  keep  a  record 
of  mistakes  will  find  that  they  tend  to  persist  in  spite  some- 
times of  repeated  corrections.^ 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  refer  in  passing  to  the  asser- 
tion sometimes  made  that  all  speaking,  writing,  and  under- 
standing of  a  foreign  language  is  translation,  "  blitzschnell" 

1  For  details  and  results  of  such  a  record  see  the  Addendum  to 
this  book. 


METHOD    IN    THR    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  619 

it  may  be,  but  still  translation.  If  such  takes  place,  it 
must  for  most  of  ns  be  subconscious.  Whether  there  is 
any  such  subconscious  translation  we  have  at  present  no 
means  of  knowing.  But  even  if  there  were,  the  fact  would 
have  no  practical  importance.  We  should  simply  have  to 
substitute  the  term  "  subconscious  translation  "  or  "  light- 
ning translation "  for  direct  connection,  and  proceed 
exactly  as  before,  that  is,  take  all  the  precautions  necessary 
to  prevent  the  relatively  slow  conscious  translation  from 
becoming  habitual. 

After  investing  the  first  impression  made  by  a  new  word 
or  phrase  with  the  maximum  of  interest 
lary  Practice  Possible,  it  remains  for  us  to  exercise  by  repe- 
tition the  process  of  recall  itself.  The  value 
of  the  exercise  will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  attention  it 
commands.  Repetition  by  itself  is  not  enough.  One  may, 
for  instance,  repeat  the  Te  Deum  laudamus  fifty-two  times 
a  year  for  fifty -two  years,  and  yet  at  the  end  be  unable  to 
recite  it  from  memory  correctly.  If  repetition  is  to  be 
effective,  if  it  is  to  re-arouse  attention,  "the  subject  must 
be  made  to  show  new  aspects  of  itself,  to  prompt  new 
questions,  in  a  word  to  change." '  What  intei'ests  in  the  old 
is  the  new.  To  repetition  with  variety  let  us  add  repeti- 
tion at  intervals,  for  excessive  iteration  of  the  same  thing 
at  one  time  results  not  only  in  loss  of  attention  but  in 
mental  revolt  and  disgust,  a  state  of  affairs  that  is  not  in 
the  least  improved  by  the  use  of  "  thundering  tones,"  or 
even  by  the  forcible  impression  of  painful  stimuli  upon  the 
epidermis. 

If  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  repetition  is  to  be 
secured  in  the  limited  time  at  our  disposal  it  must  be  chiefly 
oral,  the  reason  being  that  speech  can  l^e  uttered  at  least  six 

'   W.  James,  Talks  to  Teachers,  Chap.  IX. 


620  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANftUAGES. 

times  as  fast  as  it  can  be  wiitten.  The  written  work  may 
be  confined  to  spelling  and  testing. 

If,  again,  the  necessity  of  creating  the  direct  connection 
be  granted,  the  repetition  must  be  in  tlie  foreign  language 
itself,  for  it  is  certain  that  if  the  teacher  persists  in  having 
the  association  of  a  word  or  phrase  and  its  meaning  practised 
by  repeated  translation,  as  is  still  frequently  done,  he  is 
strengthening  not  the  direct  but  the  indirect  process.  He 
is  creating  that  haUt  of  translation  that  it  is  our  object  to 
avoid.  This  applies  not  only  to  repeated  translation  of  a 
text,  but  also  to  learning  lists  of  words  and  phrases  side 
by  side  with  their  native  equivalents. 

And  finally  the  repetition  must  be  in  sentence  form, 
because  only  thus  can  variety  be  obtained,  and  because  the 
sentence  is  for  practical  purposes  the  unit  of  speech. 

The  various  methods  of  practising  the  vocabulary  in 
sentence  form  and  directly  in  the  foreign  language  will  best 
be  made  clear  by  examples : 

Question ing  on  the  context  of  a  word.  The  following  lines 
from  About's  Boi  des  Montagnes  will  serve  for  illustration  : 

Les  moines  du  Pentelique  ant  de  vastes  terrains  au-dessus 
de  Castia.  lis  y  elevent  des  abeilles.  Le  hoti  vieillard 
qui  exploite  la  ferme  a  tovjonrs  du  2^ain,  du  miel,  et  des 
poules :   il  nous  donnera  a  drjetmer. 

The  two  words  abedle,  miel  are  new,  and  have  been 
interpreted.  They  can  be  practised  by  the  following  ques- 
tions :  Qu'est-ce  que  les  moines  elevaient  au-dessixs  de 
Castia  ?  Qu'est-ce  que  le  bon  vieillard  avait  a  vendre  ? 
D'oii  lui  venait  le  miel  ?  Pourquoi  elevait-il  des  abeilles? 
etc.  A  certain  number  of  questions  on  the  text  forms  a 
regular  step  in  the  method  and  will  be  considered  more 
fully  in  the  next  section.  New  vocabulary  of  any  import- 
ance is  thus  generally  certain  to  receive  this  kind  of  practice 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  621 

autoiuatically.  Unusual  words  or  phrases  ueed  not  of 
course  receive  special  atteutiou. 

Practising  the  contexts  of  a  word  has  not  only  value  as  a 
means  of  re-impressing  its  meaning  upon  the  mind,  but 
serves  in  many  cases  to  build  up  its  full  connotation. 
Compare,  for  instance,  the  following  sets  of  contexts :  (1) 
Le  chien  poussa  (uttered)  un  hurlement  de  douleur.  II 
poussa  (pushed  to)  la  porte.  Ces  choux  out 2)ousse  (sprung 
up)  tout  seuls.  (2)  II  faut  tourner  sept  fois  sa  langue 
(tongue)  dans  sa  bouche  avant  de  parler.  Le  francais  est 
une  langue  (tongue,  language,  speech)  vivante.  La  poesie 
ne  manque  jamais  de  refleurir  quand  reverdit  la  langue 
(language).  Taught  in  this  way  the  connotation  of  pousser, 
langue,  which  it  will  be  observed  does  not  coincide  with  those 
of  push,  tongue,  is  learnt  by  a  cumulative  process  similar  to 
that  by  wliich  we  acquire  the  meaning  of  much  the  greater 
part  of  our  native  vocabulary.  Experience  has  shown  that 
these  contexts  may  impress  themselves  with  such  force  upon 
the  pupil's  memory  as  to  enable  him,  years  after,  to  recall 
them  and  cite  the  place  in  the  book  where  they  occurred ;  ^ 
and  further  that  the  teacher,  though  using  different  books 
with  different  classes,  is  yet  easily  able  to  keep  in  separate 
compartments  of  his  mind  the  groups  of  contexts  that  have 
in  each  class  been  formed  to  illustrate  a  given  word,  say 
langue. 

Questions  on  the  meaning  of  a  word.  These  serve  not 
only  to  vary  the  form  of  repetition,  but  also  to  revive  in 
direct  association  with  the  foreign  word  much  of  the 
meaning  latent  in  the  native.  They  take  the  form  of  ask- 
ing for  qualities,  uses,  habits,  time,  place,  and  the  like. 
For  instance,  in  connection  with  abeille,  miel,  the  following 


^  Walter:    Andgnung  uud   Verarbeitmig  des   Wortschatzes,  p.  30 
(1907,  Marburg). 


622  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODEKN    LANGUAGES. 

are  among  the  qiiestious  that  may  Le  put :  Commeut 
appelle-t-on  I'insecte  qui  fait  du  miel?  Qvi'est-ce  qu'une 
abeille  ?  Citez  le  nom  cl'iTii  iusecte.  Qu'est-ce  que  Tabeille  va 
chercher  dans  les  fleurs  ?  Oii  I'abeille  va-t-elle  chercher  le 
miel  ?  De  qnoi  se  sert-elle  pour  voler  ?  A  quoi  servent  les 
ailes  ?  Combien  d'ailes  a  I'abeille  ?  A  quoi  sert  le  miel  ? 
L'avez-vous  goute  ?  Qu'est-ce  que  vous  avez  goute  ?  A 
quel  insecte  le  devez-vous  '?  Or  again,  let  ns  suppose  that 
the  abstract  word  oisivete  in  the  context  L'oisivete  est  la 
mere  de  tons  les  vices  has  to  be  practised.  Questions  : 
Comment  appelle-t-on  le  vice  de  celui  qui  ne  fait  rien  ? 
Qu'est-ce  que  I'oisivete  ?  Qu'est-ce  qu'im  homnie  oisif '? 
luie  femme  oisive  ?  une  vie  oisive  ?  un  homme  qui  ne  fait 
rien  ?  etc.  This  exercise,  -which  need  not,  of  course,  be 
used  with  words  occurring  only  rarely,  provides  an  ex- 
cellent introduction  to  free  conversation,  and,  if  full  use  is 
made  of  the  blackboard,  to  free  written  composition  also. 

Making  ui)  examples.  The  pupils  are  required  to  make 
up  examples  in  which  the  word  or  expression  to  be  prac- 
tised is  combined  with  other  words  they  know ;  another 
simple  form  of  free  composition. 

Grouping  words.  In  addition  to  practising  the  direct 
association  of  the  individual  word  or  phrase  with  its  mean- 
ing or  meanings,  the  vocabulary  acquired  can  be  grouped 
by  some  relation  either  of  form  or  sense.  The  group  so 
made  affords  material  for  further  practice. 

The  Form-groups  are  based  upon  identity  of  suffix, 
prefix,  or  root.  AVhether  the  words  having  a  common 
prefix  or  sxiffix  be  grouped  by  the  pupil,  teacher,  or  editor 
is  comparatively  unimportant.  The  essential  is  that  the 
pupil  should  arrive  by  a  personal  effort  of  induction  at 
the  significance  of  the  inflection.  He  is  far  more  likely 
to  remember  that  the  Grerman  -chen,  -lein  are  diminutive 
endinars,  if  he  discovers  the  fact  for  himself.     The  root- 


METHOD    IN    XHK    LINGUISTIC    COUKSE.  623 

groups  are  the  most  useful  tmder  tliis  head.  A  good 
example  is  provided  by  hoire,  holsson,  buvard,  jyoitrhoire. 
More  important  still  thau  the  grouping  is  the  practice 
which  takes  one  or  other  of  the  three  forms  already 
indicated :  questions  on  the  context,  or  on  the  meaning, 
or  composing  examples.  It  might  in  the  case  of  hoire, 
etc.,  begin  with  :  Conjuguez  le  present  de  '  boire.'  Then  : 
Qu'est-ce  que  vous  buvez  au  j^etit  dejeuner  ?  Qu'est-ce 
qu'on  boit  au  petit  dejeuner  en  France  ?  Qu'est-ce  que  le 
cafe  ?  Nommez  d'autres  boissons.  Comment  appelle-t-on 
im  papier  qui  boit  I'encre  ?  Qu'est-ce  que  le  j^apier  bu- 
vard ?     A  quoi  sei"t-il  ?     Ou  I'achete-on  ?  etc 

The  Sense-groups  can  take  a  large  variety  of  forms. 
They  may  be  based  upon  a  picture  occurring  in  the  text. 
An  armed  figure  will,  for  instance,  sujjply  the  occasion  for 
a  revision  and  grouping  of  the  names  for  weapons,  folloAved, 
as  always,  by  the  inevitable  oral  and  blackboard  practice, 
e.g.  Qu'est-ce  que  le  guerrier  porte  a  la  main  droite  ?  A 
quoi  sert  I'e'pee  ?  Avec  quoi  est-ce  qu'on  donne  des 
coups  ?  etc.  A  number  of  class-room  terms  can  be  re- 
grouped under  the  head  Papeterie  or  Librairie,  and  prac- 
tised in  connection  with  vendre,  aclieter,  payer,  entrer,  e.g. 
Vous  entrez  dans  une  papeterie.  Oil  entrez-vous  ?  Pour- 
quoi?  or,  Qu'est-ce  que  vous  allez  y  aclieter?  Then  to 
another  pupil :  Vous  etes  le  papetier.  Qu'est-ce  que  vous 
vendez  a  —  ?  Quel  prix  lui  demandez-vous  ?  etc.  This 
form  is  particularly  effective,  because  it  appeals  to  the 
child's  strong  dramatic  instinct.  He  needs  little  encour- 
agement to  enlarge  the  dialogue.  Under  the  head  Parente 
can  be  grouped  pire,  fils,  mire,  etc.  These  can  be  practised 
by  di'awing  on  the  board  the  genealogical  tree  of  an  imagi- 
nary family,  or  of  the  characters  in  the  texts  with  imaginary 
additions,  or  of  the  Kings  of  France  and  then  questioning : 
De  qui  —  est-il  le  fils  ?  or  Quel  est  le  degre  de  parente 


624  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

entre  —  et  —  ?      Again,  the  parts  of  a  room   or  house 
can  be  grouped,  and  practised  with  appropriate  verbs. 

A  number  of  useful  idiomatic  expressions  and  proverbs 
can  be  collected  and  repractised  under  suitable  heads,  new 
related  expressions  being  added,  when  necessary.  Under 
Somnieil,  for  example:  avoir  sommeil,  avoir  envie  de 
dormir,  passer  une  nuit  blanche,  etc.  Questions :  Si  on 
a  sommeil,  qu'est-ce  qu'on  fait?  Pourquoi  va-t-on  se 
coucher?  Va-t-on  se  coucher  tou jours  parce  qu'on  a 
sommeil  ?  Comment  appelle-t-on  une  nuit  sans  sommeil  ? 
Qu'est-ce  qu'une  nuit  blanche  ?  Combien  de  nuits  blanches 
avez-vous  passces  ce  mois-ci?  Vous  travaillez  peut-etre 
trop ! 

Sy7ionyms  may  be  placed  either  in  the  Form  or  the 
Sense  groups  according  as  to  whether  they  have  the  same 
or  different  radicals.  Under  the  first  head  would  come 
campagne,  champs  ;  cervelle,  cerveau  ;  secret,  secretement ; 
and  imder  the  second :  apprendi-e,  enseiguer,  instruire  ; 
cote,  bord,  rive.  Wherever  possible,  the  class  should  be 
allowed  to  try  and  discover  the  distinctions  for  themselves 
from  the  comparison  of  contexts.  Then  follows  practice 
on  the  lines  already  indicated. 

All  these  groups  not  only  may,  but  should  overlap.  The 
more  associated  systems  a  word  can  form  part  of  the  better, 
both  for  the  deepening  of  its  meaning,  and  as  an  aid  to  the 
process  of  recall.  They  should  also  be  frequently  revised. 
One  form  of  doing  so  is  to  ask  for  a  group,  e.g.  Coup.  A 
ptipil  gives  coup  de  pied.  Another  gives  the  context  in 
which  it  occurred.  A  third  is  asked  to  compose  an  original 
example,  e.g.  j'ai  donne  un  coup  de  pied  au  chien.  And  so 
on  with  coup  de  poing,  coup  de  baton,  etc. 

Though  they  are  hero  both  classed  under  the  head  of 
Vocabulary  Practice,  it  will  be  found  convenient  in  actual 
class  v/ork  to  distinguish  between  (1)  the  practice  of  the 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  625 

new  words  occurring   and    (2)    the  practice  based  upon 

the  groups.     In  the  first  case  the  words  are  supplied  by 

the  passage  that  forms  the  subject  of  the  lesson,  and  can 

best  be  practised  as  soon  as  they  have  been  interpreted. 

In  the  second  case  they  are  collected  largely  from  passages 

preceding  the   one   that   serves  as   the   occasion   for  the 

composition    of    the    group.      They    have    no    necessary 

connection   witli    the    work    of    interpretation,    and   their 

practice  can  be  deferred  to  a  later  stage  of   the  lesson, 

or  can  form  a  separate  lesson.     To  this  point  we  shall 

return  later.' 

The  interpretation  of  the  text  and  the  questions  on  the 

new  Avords  are  followed  by  questions  on  the 

( v)  Text  content.     In  the  case  of  beginners  the  answers 

Questions.  .  .  .    .      , 

must  be  in  the  exact  wording  of  the  original, 

luit  as  progress  is  made  alterations  are  introduced  that 
gradually  increase  in  difificulty.  The  varying  degrees  of 
ditficulty  may  be  illustrated  by  the  tliree  following  sets  of 
questions  upon  the  passage  above  quoted  : 

Les  moines  du  Pentelique  ont  de  vastes  terrains  au-dessvs 
de  Castia  ....,•  il  nous  donnera  a  dejeuner. 

If   this   may  be  supposed   to   occur  in   the   beginners' 
lessons  the  C|uestious  on  the  first  line  would  run : 

Qui  est-ce  qui  a  de  vastes  terrains  au-dessus  .  .  .  .  ? 
Les  moines  du  P.,  qu'est-ce  qu'ils  ont  .  .  .  .  ? 
Oil  sont  les  vastes  terrains  ? 
If  at  a  later  period : 

A  qui  appartenaient  les  vastes  terrains  au-dessus  de 
Castia  ? 
Or  later  still : 

Qu'est-ce  que  Dimitri  repondit  a  Mme  Simons  ? 

1  See  §  0  (viii),  pp.  645-646. 
PR.  TG.  40 


626  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES, 

The  answer  would  l^e  : 

II  repondit  que  les  moines  du  Pentclique  avaient  .  .  .  .  , 
qu'ils  y  clevaient  des  abeilles,  et  que  le  bon  vieillard 
....  leur  donnerait  a  dejeuner. 

It  involves  changes  both  in  the  tenses  and  the  conjunctive 
pronoun 

In  the  earliest  stages  one  or  more  questions  are  asked  on 
each  sentence,  for  each  word  has  to  be  practised.  As  the 
vocabulary  of  the  class  grows  the  necessity  for  this  detailed 
treatment  ceases,  three  or  four  questions  to  a  page  being 
often  enough.  We  have  therefore  to  find  some  principle 
to  guide  us  in  distributing  our  questions.  It  is  supplied 
by  asking  only  those  which  serve  to  summarise  the  text. 
This  siunmary,  besides  being  a  starting-point  for  the  word- 
groups  and  grammar  exercises  that  are  to  follow,  provides 
also  a  basis  for  the  lesson  on  subject-matter,  supposing  the 
latter  important  enough  to  deserve  special  attention.^ 

The  siunmary,  or,  in  the  earlier  stages,  the  more  or  less 
complete  reproduction  of  the  story,  is  made  up  by  uniting 
in  one  continuous  answer  the  series  of  answers  previously 
required  by  the  text-questions.  This  continuous  answer  is 
given  in  response  to  a  general  question.  For  example, 
in  the  case  of  Le  Corheau  et  le  Benard,  it  would  run : 
Racontez  la  f able  du  Corheau  et  du  Renard.  In  the  earlier 
stages  the  process  of  learning  the  continuous  answer  can 
be  facilitated  by  writing  on  the  board  a  column  of  recall 
words,  each  word  taken  from  and  representing  one  of  the 
component  answers.  In  the  case  of  the  passage  quoted 
the  words  terrain,  aheille,  exploiter,  donner  would  serve 
the  purpose.'  When  the  recall  words  have  been  written, 
the  corresponding  questions  are  once  more  asked,  with 
the  texts,  first  open,  then  shut.     This  practice  continues 

1  §  4  (ii),  pp.  575-578.  «  p^ge  620. 


MRTHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  627 

till  the  class  is  able  to  give  the  series  as  oiie  answer. 
The  extent  to  which  the  continuous  answer  can  be  varied 
in  vocalmlary  and  form  at  this  point  in  the  lesson 
depends  upon  the  progress  of  the  class;  the  more  ad- 
vanced it  is  the  freer  will  be  the  rendering.  The  recall 
words  are  not  necessary  in  the  later  stages.  Experience 
has  shown  that  even  in  middle  fomis  the  cleverer  pupils 
will  be  able  to  give  a  good  reproduction  of  the  content 
immediately  after  the  process  of  interpretation  is  complete, 
the  text  questions  and  the  recall  words  being  necessary 
only  for  the  weaker  pupils.  While  the  answers  to  the 
text  questions  and  the  continuous  answer  are  being 
practised  orally,  one  or  more  pupils  might  be  engaged  at 
the  board  or  boards  writing  them  down,  the  results  being 
subsequently  corrected  by  the  class.' 

If  the  text  is  a  continuous  one,  a  complete  abstract  of  it 
will  be  supplied  l^y  the  combined  summaries. 

If,  as  here  assumed,  the  pupil  is  expected  to  utilise 
(vi)  Grammar  ^'^^  foreign  language  as  a  medium  of  self- 
Practice,  expression,  it  follows  that  he  cannot  limit 
himself  to  practising  the  vocabulary  in  the 
form  it  takes  in  the  text.  He  must  be  able  to  make 
the  necessary  changes  in  inflection  and  construction.  He 
must,  for  example,  learn  to  use  each  verb  not  only  in  the 
singular  but  in  the  plural,  not  only  in  one  but  in  three 
persons,  not  only  in  one  tense  but  in  all.  The  same  applies 
to  the  inflections  of  the  other  parts  of  speech.  Further,  it 
is  not  enough  for  him  to  acquire  facility  in  altering  given 
inflections ;  he  must  learn  to  apply  the  rules  that^vern 
their  changes.  He  must  be  able  to  say  correctly  both 
"/'rti  perdu  ma  plume  "  and  '' Elle  a  perdu  sa  plume"; 
"  Je  regrette  que  j'aie  perdu  ma  plume  "  and  "  Je  regrette 

1  Cf.    Walter:    Zur   Methodik   des    nemprachlichen     Unterrichts 
p.  39. 


G28  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

que  je  I'aie  perdue''  Agaiu,  he  must  know  liow  to  express 
differences,  uot  only  by  changing-  the  inflection  of  a  gram- 
matical form,  but  by  substituting  one  form  for  another,  as 
in  "  Les  pkmies  sont  utiles  "  and  '^  Elles  sont  utiles  "  ;  or 
"  Donnez-moi  des  plumes  "  and  "  Je  n'ai  pas  de  pkmies." 
And  he  must  be  able  to  place  his  words  in  the  right  order, 
as  in  "  Je  le  lui  ai  donnc  "  and  "  Ich  liabe  das  Buch  noch 
nicht  gelesen."  Not  only  must  he  know  when  to  make 
these  changes,  but,  facility  in  self-expression  being  the 
object  in  view,  he  mnst  acquire  the  ability  to  use  the  right 
infiection  and  the  right  cunstruction  mtho^it  conscious  effort. 
He  must,  in  other  words,  be  able,  within  the  limits  of  his 
vocabulary,  to  use  the  foreign  speech  in  the  same  way  as  he 
uses  the  native.' 

Learning  the  art  of  correct  self-expression  in  speech 
involves,  therefore,  two  processes  :  (1)  studying  the  rela- 
tions illustrated  by  the  preceding  examples,  in  other  words, 
gi'ammar  ;   (2)  practice  in  forming  the  relations. 

As  grammar  regarded  as  an  end  in  itself  found  no  place 
among  the  objects  of  instruction  set  out  in  the  first  part  of 
this  essay,  and  as  it  must  here,  therefore,  be  regarded  solely 
as  a  means  to  the  end  just  stated,  it  is  essential  that  we 
should  define  the  limits  of  its  utility.  To  carry  it  beyond 
the  point  where  it  ceases  to  serve  the  purpose  in  view  is  to 
waste  both  time  and  energy. 

The  first  use  of  grammar  is  that,  by  classifying  imder 
convenient  heads  the  laws  that  govern  the  relations  of 
words  to   one   another   in   a   sentence,   it   enables   us   to 

1  What  amount  of  systematic  grammatical  instruction  would  be 
necessai-y  if  we  were  concerned  only  to  teach  facility  in  understand- 
ing tlie  written  and  spokeii  language  is  not  known,  for  the  problem 
has  not  faced  us  in  practice.  The  object  in  view  would,  however, 
no  longer  be  ability  to  iise  the  grammatical  forms,  but  only  to  re.co(j- 
nise  their  meaning.     The  same  applies  to  vocabulary. 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COUKSE.  G29 

isolate  the  difficulties  and  concentrate  upon  one  at  a  time. 
Secondly,  these  laws  can  be  converted  into  rules,  tinder  which 
term  may  here  be  included  tables  of  inflections.  A  model 
paradigm  like  je  j^orte,  tii  j^ortes,  il  jjorte  is  after  all  only 
another  way  of  expressing  the  rule  that  verbs  in  -er  must 
form  their  present  singular  by  the  inflections  -e,  -es,  -e. 

The  function  of  a  rule  in  learning  a  language  is  the 
same  as  its  function  in  learning  any  art  whatsoever ;  it 
serves  as  a  guide  to  practice.  The  difference  between  rule 
and  practice  is  that  between  how  to  do  and  doing.  And 
when  doing  has  progressed  to  the  stage  at  which  attention 
to  the  how  ceases  to  be  necessary  and  may  become  even 
a  hindrance,  then  the  rule  has  obviously  discharged  its 
office. 

The  pupil  has  learnt,  for  instance,  that  when  two  French 
personal  pronouns  of  the  third  person  come  together  before 
the  verb  the  direct  must  precede  the  indii-ect.  In  prac- 
tising this  rule  he  passes  inevitalily  from  a  stage  in  which 
it  is  being  consciously  applied  to  one  in  which,  if  the  prac- 
tice is  carried  far  enough,  the  nervous  and  muscular  asso- 
ciations represented  by  le  lui;  laJui;  les  letir  estal)lish 
themselves,  whenever  required,  without  conscious  effort. 
When  in  this  or  in  any  other  given  case,  the  latter  stage  has 
been  reached,  the  rule  may  be  forgotten  Avith  an  easy  con- 
science. It  would  in  fact  naturally  be  forgotten  but  for  the 
mistaken  intervention  of  the  pedagogue.' 

Without  practice  no  art  can  be  learnt.  The  rule,  on  the 
other  hand,  often  can  and  sometimes  should  be  dispensed 
with.     The  latter  is  the  case  when  it  is  too  overburdened 

'  "  The  chief  aim  of  practice  is  right  habit — habib  so  certain  of 
itself  that  it  lias  become  involuntary.  If  the  consciousness  of  the 
rule  help  this  process,  well  and  good  :  if  it  embarrass,  then  it  has 
been  converted  from  a  good  servant  to  a  bad  master." — Findlaj', 
Principles  of  Class  Teachiny  (1904),  p.  370. 


G30  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

with  exceptions  to  he  of  any  practical  use,  e.g.  "  German 
names  of  persons  and  animals  ending  in  -e  are  masculine, 
excepting  the  names  of  insects  and  small  birds,  etc."  A 
number  of  grammatical  relations  can  in  fact,  as  in  the 
native  tongue,  be  learnt  by  imitative  practice  only,  a  good 
example  being  the  association  between  articles  and  nouns 
of  the  same  gender.  To  what  extent  this  is  possible  or 
desirable  is  a  point  well  worth  more  investigation  than  it 
has  yet  received. 

Assuming  then  the  use  of  grammar  to  be  sufficiently 
defined,  how  is  it  to  be  taught  ?  There  are  three  possible 
ways  :  (1)  the  rule  is  given  and  the  pupil  applies  it ;  (2) 
the  particulars  are  given,  the  pupil  compares  them,  formu- 
lates the  rule  and  applies  it;  (3)  the  pupil  collects  the 
particulars,  compares  them,  formulates  the  rule  and  applies 
it.  It  will  be  seen  that  these  methods  differ  only  in  their 
points  of  departure.  Excepting  for  its  final  appHcation, 
the  last  is  the  one  that  has  to  be  followed  l)y  the  gram- 
marian himself  in  establishing  his  science.  To  impose  it, 
except  in  an  occasional  and  limited  way,  on  our  pupils 
would  scarcely  be  practicable,  and,  even  if  it  were,  would 
be  introducing  into  the  instruction  a  factor  which  was  not 
strictly  relevant  to  the  issue.  The  first  has  for  long 
dominated  in  our  schools,  but  the  stress  was  laid  on  the 
rule;  the  application,  limited  to  the  translation  of  a  few 
disconnected  sentences,  being  practically  left  to  talce  care 
of  itself.  Assuming  the  application  thoroughly  done,  it  is 
effective  enough,  provided  the  rule  is  not  more  than  a 
simple  instruction,  e.g.  When  two  personal  pronouns  of 
the  third  person  come  together  before  the  verb,  the  direct 
must  precede  the  indirect.  If  tliis  is  thoroughly  practised 
the  desired  result  is  acliieved,  as  well  as  if  it  had  been 
found  out  by  the  pupil  for  himself.  But  though  one  need 
not  take  too  literally  Pestalozzi's  advice  "  never  to  rob  a 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  631 

child  of  liis  sacred  right  of  discovery,"  there  can  he  no 
doubt  that  the  second  method  is  the  best,  because  (1)  an 
abstraction  is  most  easily  understood  when  arrived  at 
througli  the  particulars  of  which  it  is  the  concentrated 
essence,  (2)  the  process  of  finding  a  thing  out  for  oneself 
stimidates  attention.  The  pupil  adventuring  into  the 
unexplored  regions  of  grammar  may  not  exj^erience  the 
thrills  of  a  Columbus  finding  a  new  world,  but,  as  anyone 
knows  who  has  tried  the  method,  he  does  feel  a  genuine 
joy  in  the  work. 

Let  us  pass  from  the  study  to  the  practice  of  the 
rule,  in  their  nature  two  fundamentally  different  pro- 
cesses. In  the  first  case  knowledge  is  being  acquired,  in 
the  second  case  skill.  And  skill  in  self-expression,  whether 
this  take  the  form  of  arranging  words,  musical  notes 
or  colours,  is,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  result  of 
practice  only.  Though  practice  of  the  right  sort  makes 
perfect,  one  has  of  course  to  recognise  degrees  of  perfection. 
All  that  practice  can  ensure  is  perfect  tecJinique,  which,  in 
the  art  of  composition,  whether  oral  or  written,  means 
gi-ammatical  and  idiomatic  accuracy.  This  "  mere  "  tech- 
nique is,  however,  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  Without 
it  the  inventive  genius  needed  for  finer  creations  is  crippled 
by  its  limitations.  In  teaching  a  foreign  language  we 
may  well  be  satisfied  if  even  sound  technique  is  the 
result. 

If  we  grant  that  practice  alone  makes  perfect,  it  follows 
that  the  more  we  can  give  the  better.  Hence  again  the 
supreme  value  of  the  oral  method.  Grammar-practice, 
like  vocabulary -practice,  must  for  the  most  pai't  be  oral,  if 
appreciable  progress  is  to  be  made.  It  was  the  neglect  of 
this  fact  that  led  in  the  past  to  the  production  in  our 
schools  of  so  many  grammarians  and  so  few  linguists. 
If  we  grant,  again,  that  the  direct  connection  is  necessary ; 


632  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

that,  as  already  assumed,  the  learner  must  be  able,  within 
the  limits  of  his  vocabulary,  to  use  the  foreign  as  he  uses 
his  native  tongue,  grammar-practice,  like  vocabulary- 
practice,  must  be  in  the  foreign  language  itself  and  free 
from  translation. 

Before  showing  how  the  direct  oral  method  can  be 
applied  to  the  teaching  of  grammar,  let  us  note  that  the 
points  which  may  be  studied  in  any  given  lesson  fall 
under  three  heads  :  (1)  Eevision.  Each  lesson  will  give 
opportunities  for  some  revision  of  previous  practice. 
(2)  Forms  practised  in  the  process  of  altering  the  in- 
flections and  constructions  of  the  continuous  answer 
referred  to  in  the  preceding  section.  (3)  Forms  specially 
practised  in  connection  with  a  particular  passage  because 
it  supplies  the  examples  necessary  to  complete  the  series 
required  for  the  formulation  of  a  rule  or  paradigm. 

A  few  typical  examples  taken  from  different  parts  of 
speech  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  method. 

Dative  of  the  Definite  Article. — Contexts  illustrating 
each  inflection  are  collected  either  1  jy  the  class,  the  teacher, 
or  the  book  from  passages  that  have  already  been  studied 
by  means  of  text-questions,  etc.  These  are  compared  by 
the  class  and  a  few  forms  classified  as  follows  : 


Si 

[NGULIER 

Pluriel 

^Iascitlin 

FtMININ 

Masculin 

Feminin 

au  roi 

a  la  reine 

aux  rois 

aux  reines 

a  Tepiciei- 

a  I'l^piciere 

aux  ^piciers        aux  epicieres 

The  pupils  are  required  to  explain  why  a  V  is  used 
instead  of  «.?<,  «  la.  The  table  thus  built  up  is  left  on  the 
board  to  aid  the  first  stages  of  the  practice,  which  may 
take  the  followmg  cotu-se  :  (1)  A  preliminary  oral  exercise 
in  the  inflections  themselves  is  provided  l:)y  practising  the 
nominative  and  dative  of  any  or  all  the  nouns  previously 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  6'S'S 

learnt,  e.g.  "  Mettez  ;iu  clatif :  le  tableau,  la  plume,  Tencre, 
Tencrier,  et«."  ;  and  "Mettez  an  nominatif:  au  tableau, 
etc."  (2)  Sentences  like  the  following,  made  up  of  words 
known  to  the  class,  are  written  on  the  blackboard :  J'ai 
donne  la  plvime  —  enfants.  II  a  doune  la  plume  —  enfant. 
These  sentences,  with  the  addition  of  the  missing  word,  are 
given  orally  by  the  pupils  in  turn  as  answers  to  the  ques- 
tions, A  qui  ai-je  donnc  la  plume,  etc.  In  order  to  permit 
of  repetition  the  datives  are  left  unentered.  (3)  Groups  of 
words,  e.g.  cahier,  professeur,  donner ;  livre,  Henri,  de- 
mander,  etc.,  are  written  on  the  board,  and  the  class 
required  orally  to  turn  each  group  into  examples  of  the 
dative.  A  pupil  gives,  for  instance,  II  donna  un  cahier  au 
professeur.  Another  is  then  asked  to  turn  it  into  a  ques- 
tion, e.g.  Qu'est-ce  fju'il  donna  au  professeur?  A  third 
converts  both  into  the  jilural.  (4)  A  large  variety  of 
questions  can  be  put  requiring  answers  in  known  words, 
e.g.  the  teacher  begins  :  Je  suis  entre  ce  matin  chez  le 
libraire.  J'ai  demande  une  plume.  A  qui  ai-je  demande 
la  plume  ?  Or,  A  quel  animal  donne-t-on  du  lait  a  boire  ? 
des  OS  ?  etc.  Or,  A  quoi  pensez-vous  ?  The  answer  can 
be  supplied  by  dejeuner,  le9on,  etc.,  written  without  article 
on  the  board.  Similarly  with  A  qui  avez-vous  vendu, 
donne,  prete,  vole  cette  plume  ?  Or,  A  qui  le  roi 
Edouard  VII  a-t-il  succede?  le  roi  Edouard  III  ?  etc. 
Throughout  the  practice  one  or  more  jjupils  should  be  at 
the  blackboard  writing  the  answers. 

Noun  and  Adjective  Inflections. — In  the  case  of  the 
French  noun  inflections  it  will  be  enough  to  jjractise  the 
spelling.  All  the  examples  of  a  given  form  occurring  in  a 
text  are  as  a  rule  collected  in  the  better  class  of  elementary 
Reform  readers,  e.g.  tableau/,  taXAeaux,  morceau,  couteau, 
etc.,  so  that  the  pupil  can  l>e  led  to  notice  how  the  plural 
is  formed,  and  can  also,  when  a  new  example  occurs  in 


(334  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

any  lesson,  repractise  all  that  have  preceded.  This  revision 
at  frequent  intervals  is  the  sure  road  to  complete  mastery. 
The  German  declensions  present,  of  course,  a  much  greater 
difficulty.  The  procedure  will  be  that  adopted  with  the 
dative  of  the  article,  above  described.  But  a  complete 
method  of  teaching  the  declensions  has  yet  to  be 
worked  out. 

The  adjective  inflections  are  Ijest  practised  in  connection 
with  concord  and  comparison,  e.g.  De  quelle  couleur  est  la 
craie,  un  mouchoir,  la  neige,  I'encrier  ?  etc.  Or  such  sen- 
tences as  Le  cheval  est  xin  animal  can  be  written  on 

the  board,  the  pupil  supplying  an  appropriate  adjective  as 
part  of  his  answer  to  the  question,  Qu'est-ce  que  le  cheval  ? 
A  list  of  possible  adjectives  can  be  written  on  another  part 
of  the  board,  the  pupil  making  his  selection.  Or  again : 
Comparez  la  Loire  et  la  Seine  par  rapport  a  la  longueur, 
la  rapiditt',  etc.  Let  us  add  that  the  text- questions  on  the 
contexts  prove  exceedingly  useful  for  teaching  the  position 
of  adjectives.  The  pupil  who  remembers  some  striking 
expression  such  as 

Un  jour  sur  ses  lonys  pieds,  allait,  je  ne  sais  oil, 
Le  h^roii  au  long  bee  emmanche  d'un  long  cou, 

will  easily  remember  the  position  of  long,  one  of  the  group 
of  important  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  adjectives  gene- 
rally follow  their  nouns.  The  quicker  boys  will  probably 
be  able  to  suggest  exceptions  to  the  exception,  e.g.  les 
voyelles  long'ues,  learnt  during  the  phonetic  drill.  Another 
good  example  is  :  Le  vaste  gilet  rouge  du  gros  cocher 
parisien. 

Prepositions  and  Adverbs. — Prepositions  may  be  taught 
(1)  in  connection  with  actions,  wall-maps,  pictures,  and, 
as  often  as  possible,  in  serial  form,  e.g.  Je  mets  la  plume 
dans  I'encrier,  Je  met  I'encrier  sur  le  cahier,  etc.  Ques- 
tions :  Oil  est-ce  que  je  mets  la  plume  ?  etc.     Le  Ehone  a 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  685 

sa  source  dans  les  Alpes.  II  coule  d'abord  vers  I'ouest 
.  .  .  .  ;  Questions :  Oii  le  Rhone  a-t-il  sa  source  ?  etc. 
Versailles  est  pre s  de  Paris,  et  loin  de  Madrid.  Questions  : 
Oil  est  Versailles  ?  etc.  (2)  A  series  can  be  based  uj^on 
the  text,  generally  in  connection  witli  A'erb-drill  and  fre- 
quently associated  with  adverbs,  e.g.  Je  partirai  pour  Paris 
demain,  J'arriverai  a  Paris  dans  trois  jours,  Je  I'esterai 
a  Paris  un  jour  ....  Then  the  questions  :  Qu'est-ce 
que  je  ferai  demain  ?  or  Qu'est-ce  que  vous  ferez 
demain  ?  nous  ferons  ?  Or  again :  J'arri^'e  a  la  station 
Je  descends  de  1' omnibus,  Je  vais  au  guichet  .... 
(3)  The  pupils  may  be  set  to  collect  from  the  passages 
they  have  studied  examples  of  given  prepositions.  To 
these  they  can  add  examples  of  their  own.  All  should 
be  written  on  the  board  and  practised  wherever  possible  by 
question  and  answer.  (4)  From  time  to  time  all  the 
examples  of  a  given  preposition  that  have  been  learnt 
should  be  collected  and  studied  with  a  view  to  discovering 
the  variations  in  meaning,  e.g.  II  est  sorti  vers  niidi,  Le 
Rhone  coule  d'abord  vers  I'ouest  ;  or  Er  kommt  in  das 
Zimmer.  Er  ist  im  Zimmer.  The  diiferences,  having 
been  found  out,  should  then  be  thoroughly  practised  by 
some  such  simple  exercises  as  those  described  above  in  (2) 
and  (3)  under  the  Dative  of  the  definite  article.  All  these 
methods,  especially  the  last  three,  apply  equally  to  the 
adverbs.  The  French  inflected  adverbs  will  of  course  be 
taught  in  close  connection  with  the  feminines  of  adjec- 
tives. 

Verb  Infiections. — First  and  Second  year  books  ai-e  now 
so  arranged  that  each  tense  is  taught  intensively,  that  is, 
one  at  a  time  through  all  conjugations.  The  inflections, 
or  most  of  them,  are  first  learnt  in  the  ordinary 
coui'se  of  oral  instruction.  Wlien  enough  examples  have 
occurred,  they  are  comj>ared  and  classified.     In  the  case  of 


636  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

the  French,  present  indicative,  for  instance,  the  process  of 
comparison  should  result  finally  in  the  following  table, 
which  should  become  perfectly  familiar  to  the  class  : 


Siny. 


Verbes  en  er, 

V 

erbes  en  -re, 

and  the  group  ouvrir. 

-ir,  -oir 

e 

s 

es 

s 

e 

t(d) 

ons 

ez 

ent 

Plur. 


Having  reached  this  table  by  a  process  of  induction,  the 
pupils  are  taken  through  the  process  of  deduction  (not  to 
be  confused  with  application  or  practice)  with  any  new 
verb  that  occurs.  If  the  form  il  court  is  met  with,  they  are 
led  to  argue  from  the  table  of  endings  that  the  first  person 
must  be  Je  covrs,  and  the  second  tu  cours.  Irregularities 
must  be  practised  by  themselves,  and  can  be  introduced,  if 
wanted,  at  an  early  stage.  The  present  of  aller,  for  instance, 
is  very  easily  practised  in  connection  with  the  class-room 
terms,  and,  as  it  can  be  repeated  in  varying  forms  from 
lesson  to  lesson,  is  very  rapidly  mastered,  e.g.  Vous  allez 
ouvrir  les  livres.  Qu'est-ce  que  vous  allez  faire?  or  Jc 
vais  lire  les  lignes  ....  Qu'est-ce  que  je  vais  faire  ?  Or 
to  Jones  :  Essuyez  le  tableau.  Then :  Qu'est-ce  que  tu  vas 
faire  ?  To  Brown  :  Qu'est-ce  qu'il  va  faire  ?  And  so  on 
in  every  person,  plural  and  singtdar.  It  may  be  noted  in 
passing  that  the  past  indefinite  may  be  thoroughly  prac- 
tised at  the  same  time:  Essuyez  le  tableau.  Qu'est-ce 
que  vous  allez  essuyer  ?  Qu'est-ce  que  vous  avez  essuyc  ? 
Or  the  imperative :  Dites  a  Jones  d'essuyer  le  tableau. 
All  the  necessary  class-room  instructions  at  the  beginning 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE  037 

or  end  of  a  lesson  can  be  given  by  a  pupil,  e.g.  Levez-voiis, 
Jones.  Allez  ouvrir  la  porte.  Premier  banc,  levez-vous. 
Sortez,  etc. 

The  value  of  the  direet  oral  method  is  nowhere  more 
evident  than  in  its  application  to  the  practice  of  the  verbs. 
It  may  begin  (1)  with  the  familiar  tense  recitation,  J'al, 
hi  as,  etc.,  which  is  useful  as  a  preliminary  drill  in  inflections 
themselves,  and  as  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the  verbs  in 
the  passage  of  the  text  being  studied  are  known  before 
the  other  exercises  are  begun.  (2)  A  more  advanced  form 
of  the  tense  practice  is  provided  by  having  a  passage 
re-read  in  different  persons.  The  same  provides  a  very 
useful  though  far  more  difficult  exercise  when  it  comes  to 
changing  the  tense,  e.g.  from  present  to  past.  The  same 
changes  can  be  made  with  sentences  upon  the  board.  A 
variation  is  provided  by  exercises  like  Remplacez  I'infinitif 
par  I'indicatif :  Si  je  (avoir)  une  perle,  je  la  (vendre),  or  by 
writing  on  the  board  in  the  infinitive  sentences  like  the 
following : — 

faire  elaquer  le  fonet 

faire  trotter  le  cheval 

faire  allumer  le  feu. 

Questions:   Qui  est-ce  qui  fait  elaquer  le  fouet?     Eh  bien,  moi, 
je  suis  cocher.     Qu'e.st-ee  que  je  fais  elaquer  ... 

(3)  In  the  elementary  stages  of  instruction  the  practice  can 
l5e  based  upon  the  wall-picture,  or  class-room  objects,  e.g. 
pointing  to  a  figure  in  the  wall-picture :  Que  fait  Henri  ?— 
II  mange  du  pain.  Then :  Vous  ctes  Henri.  Que  faites- 
vous  ?  etc.  Or,  in  connection  with  the  parts  of  the  body  : 
Avec  quoi  est-ce  que  je  vols  ?  vous  voyez  ?  etc.  The  same 
Icind  of  exercise  can  be  based  upon  the  pictures  in  the 
reader,  which  should  always  and  can  very  easily  beutiHsed. 

(4)  One  of  the  best  elementary  forms  of  practice  is  the  well- 
Icnown   series,  which  may  be  built  either  upon  pictures, 


038  THE    TEACHING    OP    MODERN    LANGUAaBS. 

objects,  or  the  text,  e.g.  je  prends  le  torclion,  je  vais  au 
tableau,  j'essuie  le  tableau,  j'accroche  le  torclion  a  une  des 
chevilles  ....  The  following  example  is  based  on  a 
chapter  describing  a  visit  to  Mont  St.  Michel :  J'arrive 
au  niont,  je  me  fais  conduii-e  a  I'hotel  Poulard,  oil  j'ai 
I'intention  de  dejeuner.  Je  me  fais  servir  une  omelette. 
Je  la  trouve  bonne.  Aprcs  le  dejeuner  je  m'epuise  a 
nionter  les  degres  qui  condiiisent  a  I'abbaye.  Je  ne  les 
monterai  plus  ....  Such  a  series  can  be  varied  and  ex- 
tended indefinitely  by  the  class  itself.  The  practice  should 
end  in  the  series  being  given  in  any  person  as  a  continuous 
answer  to  a  general  question,  recall-words  being  used  as 
in  the  case  of  the  continuous  answer  described  above 
under  the  head  of  Text-Questions.  (5)  The  continuous 
answer  last  mentioned  can  and  often  should  itself  be  made 
to  serve  as  a  similar  exercise.  The  following  provides  a 
good  example  of  an  answer  given  by  a  boy  of  fifteen.  It 
was  written  at  the  time  he  gave  it  and  just  as  he  gave  it, 
errors  included.  It  summarises  in  the  first  person  the  life 
of  St.  Martin  given  by  the  text  in  the  third  person.  Help 
was  afforded  only  at  the  words  in  italics : 

Je  vivais  au  quatrieme  siecle,  j'exerQais  la  profession  de  soldat,  je 
me  lis  remarquer  par  nion  bonte  et  ma  charity.  Un  jour  je  vis  un 
mendiant ;  il  ^tait  a  demi-mi.  II  implorait  la  pitie  des  passants.  Je 
tire  mon  ^pee,  je  coupe  mon  manteau  en  deux  et  je  jette  un  morceau 
de  mon  manteau  sur  les  6paules  du  mendiant.  Quand  je  rentrais 
dans  le  camp,  je  fus  re9u  par  les  rires  moqueurs  de  mes  camarades, 
parce  que  je  n'avais  sur  les  epaules  qu'un  morceau  de  manteau.  Je 
devins  eveque  de  Tours.  Je  mourus  k  I'age  de  80  ans,  et  je  fus 
enterr^  ;\  Tours  et  des  pelerins  visiterent  en  grand  nomhre  mon 
tomheau. 

If  it  is  thought  desirable  to  be  very  realistic,  the  pupil 
may  be  supposed  to  represent  the  benevolent  bishop 
revenu  tout  expres  de  I'autre  monde  to  help  in  the 
instruction  of  the  class. 


METHOD    TN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  639 

In  cases  in  which  the  passage  describes  the  proceedings 
of  more  than  one  character,  the  parts  can  be  distributed, 
each  person  in  turn  taking  one. 

Besides  the  varied  pi-actice  tliat  tliis  method  gives  in  the 
verb-forms,  it  has  the  merit  of  familiarising  us  witli  their 
use  in  a  numlier  of  different  contexts.  Each  new  context 
either  enforces  a  meaning  ah-eady  known,  or  adds  a  new 
meaning  or  shade  of  meaning.  Each  verb,  so  to  speak, 
grows,  and  it  is  a  living  growi:h. 

Syntax. — One  example  will  suffice  to  show  the  method  of 
finding  and  applying  a  rule,  using  this  word  in  its  more 
limited  sense.  What  lias  to  be  found  out  is  the  rule  for 
the  agreement  of  the  past  participle  conjugated  with  avoir. 
Sentences  illustrating  it,  occurring  in  the  passage  of  the 
text  that  forms  the  basis  of  the  lesson,  are  Avritten  on  the 
board.  To  these  may  be  added  examples  either  taken  f  i-om 
previous  passages,  or  made  up  from  words  well  known  to 
the  class.  The  following  will  suffice  for  present  pvu-- 
poses : — 

Jean  a  mt  Louise  dans  la  rue. 

C'est  Louise  que  Jean  a  rue. 

Cest  k  elle  qu'il  a  pai'lr. 

C'est  dans  la  rue  qu'il  I'a  vue. 

II  I'a  vue  dans  la  rue. 

The  questions  may  be  written  thus :  Avec  quoi  le  par- 
ticipe  vue  s'accorde-t-il  ?  Pourc^uoi  le  participe  vu  ne 
s'accorde-t-il  pas  ?  It  is  explained  to  the  class  that 
the  answer  is  given  by  the  examples,  and  they  are  first  left 
to  find  it  for  themselves.  It  is  generally  possible  to  tell 
what  progress  is  being  made  during  this  silent  contempla- 
tion of  the  blackboard  by  noting  the  ray  of  satisfied 
comprehension  that  illuminates  the  faces  of  those  who 
think  they  have  won  the  solution.  When  a  sufficient 
number    of   these  radiations  have    occurred,    the   teacher 


640  THK    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

begins  by  demandiug  the  rule  from  a  pupil  still  uu- 
i Humiliated.  All  answers,  right  or  wrong,  are  submitted 
to  criticism,  each  pupil  who  expresses  an  opinion  being 
required  to  state  why  he  dissents  or  assents.  The  work 
throughout  must  be  done  by  the  class,  which  must  be  made 
to  feel  that  it  is  cooperating  in  a  search  for  the  truth  and 
that  it  must  not  rest  satisfied  until  a  conclusion  has  been 
reached  which  is  unassailable.  The  lesson  resolves  itself,  in 
fact,  into  an  orderly  discussion  with  the  teacher  in  the  chair. 
The  less  the  latter  intervenes  the  greater  will  be  his  merit. 
If  the  discussion  can  be  conducted  in  the  foreign  language 
so  much  the  better,  but  it  is  by  no  means  essential  to  the 
end  in  view,  and,  if  the  class  is  not  sufficiently  advanced, 
becomes  indeed  a  hindi-ance.  Finally,  Avlien  the  rule  has 
been  found,  it  is  written  on  the  board,  the  pupils  once 
more  cooperating  to  find  for  it  the  most  exact  form  of 
Avording. 

A  lesson  thus  given  may  take  longer  than  learning  the 
rule  by  heart  from  a  book,  but  in  the  long  run  it  saves 
time  because  the  rule  reached  by  personal  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  pupil  is  both  better  understood  and  longer 
remembered.  With  the  experience  of  the  last  thirty  years 
behind  us,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  the  method 
is  practicable,  even  in  elementary  classes. 

To  stop  at  the  rule,  however,  is  to  leave  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  the  process  undone.  The  object  of  the 
lesson  is  not  to  find  the  rule  only.  The  latter  is  but  a 
means,  a  guide  to  the  oral  practice  -which  is  to  make  the 
correct  concord  a  matter  of  habit.  It  can  begin  with 
(1)  questions  on  the  sentences :  Qui  est-ce  qui  a  vu 
Louise?  etc.,  the  participle  being  spelt  after  each  answer 
and  the  rule  once  more  given.  (2)  Sentences  like  J'ai 
vend —  mon  cheval  are  written  on  the  board,  questions 
put,  and   the  spelling   required.     (3)  Verbs  which  have 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINaUISTIC    COURSK  041 

the  feminine  inflections  sonndecl  are  practised.  The 
teacher  putting  on  the  talkie  a  hook,  pen,  etc.,  asks  in  each 
case:  Qu'est-ce  que  j'ai  mis  sur  la  table?  and  requii'es 
the  answer  in  two  forms.  Vous  avez  mis  .  .  .,  and  C'est 
la  —  que  ....  So  with  ouvrir,  ecrire,  apprendre,  etc. 
The  pupils  should  also  put  the  questions,  e.cj.  Quelles 
langues  avez-vous  apprises  ?  Those  who  make  Llunders 
should  he  taken  once  more  through  the  process  of  in- 
duction. The  practice  should  he  repeated  at  intervals  with 
variations  luitil  the  rule  is  applied  correctly  and  without 
hesitation. 

These  examples  will  suffice  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
value  of  the  oral  method  in  the  teaching  of  inflection  and 
construction.  If  our  pupils  are  to  acquire  not  so  much 
knowledge  about  the  foreign  language,  not  merely  the 
facile  and  in  itself  c[uite  useless  skill  in  the  patter  of  the 
paradigms  that  still  delights  the  hearts  of  school-examiners, 
but  the  ability  to  express  themselves  in  it  correctly  and 
without  conscioiis  effort,  then  direct  oral  grammar  prac- 
tice must  receive  much  more  attention  than  it  has  hitherto 
been  accorded.  This  has  yet  to  be  realised  even  in 
Germany,  to  say  nothing  of  England.  Where  it  has  been 
systematically  practised  for  many  years,  as  in  Dr.  Walter's 
Musterschule  at  Frankfurt,  the  results  have  been  admit- 
tedly satisfactory.  It  is  well,  however,  to  recognise  that 
the  method  is  at  present  in  the  making.  The  work  of  per- 
fecting it  is  the  most  important  perhaps  that  can  engage 
the  attention  of  the  modern  language  teacher. 

It  will  have  been  seen  that  the  method  leads  naturally 
to  the  systematising  of  the  grammar,  and  though  it  is 
convenient  that  the  class  should  possess  grammar  books 
for  reference,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  these  should 
contain  more  than  paradigms  and  examples  of  rules.  The 
rule  itself,  though  reached  inductively,  tends,  when  resorted 

PR.  TO,  4X 


642  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

to  for  reference,  to  become  for  tlie  pupil  a  mere  abstraction. 
A  few  simple  examples  ought  to  suffice  to  bring  it  back  to 
liis  mind,  just  as  a  few  examples  instead  of  a  rule  suffice 
in  the  case  of  tense  or  noun  endings. 

The  written  work  has  two  uses :  (1)  it  provides,  short  of 

questioning  each  pupil  out  of  hearing  of  the 
WOTk^""^""     others,  the  only  possible  test  of  how  far  the 

individuals  in  a  class  have  grasped  what 
has  been  taught ;  (2)  it  provides  also  the  only  means  of 
giving  each  pupil  an  exercise  in  composition  that  leaves 
him  entirely  to  his  own  resources.  But  just  as  in  learning 
to  speak  the  language  one  is  met  by  the  initial  difficulty 
of  proniniciatiou,  so  here  one  is  met  by  the  initial 
difficulty  of  spelling.  And  just  as  in  pronunciation  the 
first  step  towards  the  desired  result  is  attentive  listening, 
so  here  it  is  attentive  looking.  In  the  earliest  stages  this 
is  secured  by  having  the  words  copied  from  the  board  into 
the  exercise-books  or  the  soitnd  colvimns,  as  described 
under  the  head  of  pronunciation,  the  essential  condition  of 
success  being  that  only  a  few  words  should  be  taught  at  a 
time.  Copying  secures  attention  and  at  the  same  time 
provides  practice,  but  not  enough.  As  it  is  no  longer 
manual  dexterity  that  has  here  to  be  acquired,  but  the 
habit  of  placing  the  letters  of  a  word  in  a  certain  sequence, 
the  oral  method  once  more  comes  into  play.  It  has  the 
advantage  not  only  of  giving  the  maximum  of  practice  in 
a  minimum  of  time,  but  also  of  making  it  possible  to  correct 
mistakes  as  soon  as  made.  If  done  briskly  it  is  always  an 
exhilarating  exercise,  and  does  in  practice  very  considerably 
reduce  the  percentage  of  errors.  During  the  initial  stages 
the  texts  or  copy-books  should  be  open  before  the  class,  so 
that  when  a  pupil  is  iincertain  as  to  the  spelling  asked  for, 
he  can  turn  to  the  written  word  before  him.  The  fact  that 
he  does  so  with  an  immediate  practical  end  in  view  ensures 


METHOD    IN    THE    LINGUISTIC    COURSE.  643 

that  the  spelling  -will  receive  a  far  more  careful  scrutiny 
than  would  otherwise  be  the  case. 

In  the  course  based  upon  the  reader  similar  Dpelling 
practice  of  the  new  words  occurring  in  a  lesson  may  precede 
the  writing  on  the  board  or  boards  of  the  sentences,  series, 
groups,  and  continuous  answers.  In  order  to  save  time 
and  also  secure  the  cooperation  of  all  the  pupils,  the  mis- 
takes made  in  writing  are  corrected  by  the  class  orally. 
This  blackboard  work  seldom  fails  to  arouse  lively  interest 
and  saves  much  subsequent  correction. 

Only  when  the  spelling  has  been  thus  thoroughly  taugJif, 
instead  of  being  left  to  chance,  as  is  still  frequently  done, 
are  the  tests  introduced.  These  need  neither  be  more 
frequent  nor  longer  than  is  strictly  necessary  to  show 
that  the  class  has  mastered  the  inflections  or  constructions 
taught,  as  Avell  as  the  orthography.  They  can  take  one  or 
other  of  the  following  forms :  (1)  questions  in  the  foreign 
language  dictated  by  the  teacher,  and  written  by  the  pupils, 
who  then  add  the  answers  from  memory ;  or  reversing  the 
process,  sentences  dictated,  and  questions  added  by  tho 
class ;  (2)  composition  by  the  class  of  sentences  out  of 
disconnected  words  supplied  on  the  blackboard,  or  else 
sentences  copied  to  which  a  missing  word  has  to  be  added ; 
(3)  dictation  ;  (4)  translation  of  sentences  or  continuous 
passages  made  up  of  the  English  equivalents  of  foreign 
words  known  to  the  class  and  so  written  as  to  require  tho 
use  of  the  latter  in  a  new  setting  :  the  sentences  may 
simply  be  read  out  to  the  class  and  translated  in  writing 
at  once ;  (5)  composition  in  the  foreign  language  based 
upon  the  text.  This  practically  amounts  to  the  writing 
from  memory  of  the  continuous  answers,  series,  dialogues 
previously  composed  orally. 

Whereas  all  the  above  are  simply  tests  of  the  oral  work, 
the  second  form  of  written  work,  the  exercise  in  composition 


044  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

is  itself  a  form  of  practice  in  the  use  of  the  language, 
iliffering  from  the  ordinary  oral  work  in  that  the  pupil  is 
left  to  his  own  devices  with  only  such  help  as  he  can  get 
from  the  dictionary.  The  composition  may  be  either  trans- 
lation into  the  foreign  language  of  an  unseen  English 
passao-e,  or  else  an  original  essay.  The  stage  at  which  the 
former  should  he  introduced  has  been  discussed  in  a  pre- 
vious section.'  The  latter  can  profitably  be  introduced 
earlier  and  may  take  the  form  of  essays  on  the  subject- 
matter  of  books  read,  especially  of  those  read  '  extensively,' 
letters  on  familiar  subjects,  or  reproduction  in  the  foreign 
language  of  a  story  read  aloud  in  the  foreign  language, 
if  easy,  or,  if  more  difficult,  in  the  native. 

Witli  respect  to  the  correction  of  individual  written  work 
it  may  safely  be  laid  down  as  a  general  rule  that  mistakes 
should  he  found  as  well  as  rectified  by  the  pupils  themselves. 
To  return  an  exercise  corrected  or  even  imderscored  for 
correction  has  very  little  value,  as  anyone  can  discover  for 
himself  bv  keeping  records  of  mistakes  made,-  the  reason 
being  tlia't  whereas  the  offender  may  devote  considerable 
attention  to  the  making  of  the  blunder  he  finds  little  to 
spare  for  the  corrections.  It  is  the  former,  therefore,  that 
tends  to  persist. 

The  most  profitable  time  for  mistake-correction  is  imme- 
diately after  the  exercise  has  been  done,  for  it  is  then  that 
the  pupil  is  keenest  to  know  the  residt  of  his  labours. 
The  following  method  will  prolmbly  be  found  to  serve  the 
purpose  as  far  as  the  first  foiu-  fesff  are  concerned.  Each 
pupil  has  his  exercise  before  him.  One  is  asked  to  read 
(^ut  the  first  sentence,  and  this  is  written  on  the  blackboard. 
Tlien   anvone  whose  sentence  differs    in    constmction    or 


1  §4  (iii),  pp.  578-579.     Tor  method  see  §  7,  p.  650. 
-  See  Addenduro, 


METHOD    IN    THK    LINGUISTIC    COUKSE.  645 

spelUiiy  froiu  the  one  react  out  submits  for  criticism  what 
he  has  writteii.  In  this  way  the  whole  test  is  carefully 
worked  through,  and  corrected.  From  time  to  time,  at  the 
end  or  heginniug  of  a  lesson,  the  teacher  takes  half  a  dozen 
copy-books  containing  corrected  exercises,  opens  them  one 
after  another,  au<l  lias  tlie  corrections  repractised  orally 
there  and  then,  not  only  by  the  jiupils  who  made  them, 
l)ut  by  others.  This  lioth  helps  to  eradicate  blunders,  and, 
if  different  copy-books  are  selected  on  each  occasion,  enables 
the  teacher  to  ascertain  that  the  work  of  correction  is 
being  properly  done. 

In  the  case  of  the  free  compositions,  in  which  individual 
differences  of  treatment  are  likely  to  lie  consideraljle,  it  will 
probably  be  l)est  for  the  teacher  to  read  through  each, 
appraise,  ami  make  notes  for  purposes  of  comment  and 
illustration,  and  then  work  out  a  model  composition  on  the 
blackboard  with  the  aid  of  the  class. 

The  order  which  the  various  steps  in  the  method 
above  described  would  take   in   any   given 

(viii)  Order  lesson  depends  somewhat  on  the  stage  of 
of  Steps  in  the  , ,  ,  •,  i     i     i     . 

Lesson  progress   tlie    class  has  reached,    but  gene- 

rally   speaking    it    would    be     as     follows : 

(1)  Reading  and  intei'pretation  of  the  passage  forming 
the  basis  of  the  lesson,  Avith  direct  oral  practice  of  each 
new  Avord,  as  it  occurs,  provided  it  is  worth  remembering.^ 

(2)  Questions  on  the  passage  leading  to  a  continuous  answer 
that  summarises  its  content.-  These  questions  need  not 
necessarily  be  deferred  till  the  whole  passage  has  been 
interpreted,  but  can  be  asked  at  the  end  of  each  sentence, 
after  the  questions,  if  any,  on  the  new  words  have  been 
answered.  (3)  Vocabulary-practice  of  word-groups.  When 
this  involves  the  revision  of  the  vocabulaiy  of  a  number 
of  lessons,    it   might   be   taken   as  an    independent    self- 

1  §  5  (iii),  pp.  60.3-619  ;  (iv),  pp.  fil9-62."..         -  §  5  (v),  pp.  62-3-G27. 


64^  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUACJE^. 

contained  lesson.^     (4)  Grranimar-practice  based  largely  on 
the  preceding  continuous  answer.'     (5)  Written  tests.^ 

Outside  this  series,  which  forms  an  organic  whole,  stand 
the  revision  of  vocabulary  groups  already  alluded  to,  and 
the  written  exercises  in  free  composition  and  translation 
unrelated  to  the  "centre-readei'." 

To  what  extent  the  method  can  be  carried  out  in  its 
entirety  depends  upon  the  qualifications  of  the  teacher, 
and  the  conditions  of  his  work.  If  the  latter  are  un- 
favourable, he  will  liave,  however  good  liis  qualifications, 
to  be  content  with  a  mutilated  method.  If  the  qualifica- 
tions are  lacking,  favourable  conditions  will  not  com- 
pensate for  the  inaccuracies  taught.  The  latter  state  is 
much  worse  than  the  former. 

As  already  explained,  preparation  or  home-work  should 
not  till   the  upper  stages  take  the  form  of 
WOTl?°"^^  preparing  the   text.^     It  should  be  limited 

to  revision  of  the  various  forms  of  work  done 
in  class,  and  to  collecting  from  the  text  examples  to  illus- 
trate vocabulary  or  grammar.  As  progress  is  made  the 
class  can  of  course  be  trusted  to  do  much  more  of  the  work 
by  itself,  and  in  the  later  stages  especially  an  increasing 
amount  of  time  should  be  given  to  private  rapid  reading. 

The  following  accessories  will  be  found  of  value  either 

.as  direct  aids  to  teaching  or,  indirectly,  as  a 

"  means  of  stimulating  interest  in  the  work. 

(i)  An  almanack  showing  nothing  but  the  initial  letters  of 

the  days  of  the  week  and  month,  and  the  date  figures.     It 

can  be  made  in  a  few  minutes  with  coloured  chalks  and 

cardboard,  and  should  be  made  the  subject  of  question  and 

answer  in  every  lesson  in  the  elementary  stages,   (ii)  Foreign 

wall-maps,  lettered  on  one  side,  unlettered  on  the  other. 

1  §  5  (iv),  pp.  619-62;-).  2  §  5  (^.j)^  pp^  627-642. 

3  §  5  (vii),  pp.  612-645.  *  P.  616. 


METHOD    IX    THE    LITERARY    COURSE.  647 

All  unlettered  oiitliiie  map  will  do,  names  being  added, 
when  and  if  required,  (iii)  A  plan  of  the  scliool-buildings 
and  surroundings.  This  was  found  by  the  present  writer 
useful  both  for  illustration  and  as  a  basis  for  making  up 
series  of  sentences,  (iv)  A  clock-face,  indispensable  for 
teaching  the  time  of  day.  (v)  Pictures,  photos,  picture 
post-cards,  grouped  geographically,  illustrating  foreign 
customs,  history,  persons,  buildings,  etc.  These  can  for 
the  most  part  be  pasted  on  cardboard  aiid  hung  on  the 
wall,  (vi)  Pictures  of  animals,  plants,  implements,  human 
body,  etc.,  for  vocabulary  teaching,  especially  in  the 
preparatory  stage,  (vii)  Stamps,  coins,  telegrams,  tickets, 
match-boxes,  hand-bills,  etc.  (viii)  An  album  of  news- 
paper cuttings  oil  all  possible  subjects,  e.g.  births,  deaths, 
and  marriages,  petites  annonces,  petits  faits  divers,  foreign 
cables,  anecdotes,  accidents,  etc.,  all  useful  in  creating 
'  atmosphere  '  and  enriching  vocabulary,  (ix)  Table  of  the 
metric  system,  (x)  As  much  blackboard  space  as  possible.' 
G.  The  object  of  this  course  is  to  arouse  an  interest  in 
the  foreign  literature  strong  enough  to  endure 

Method  in  beyond  the  end  of  the  school  period.     It  is 

the  Literary  "^  ^ 

Course.  ^^^    oliject    that    stands    perhaps    foremost 

among  those  we  seek  to  achieve  in  teach- 
ing a  foreign  language.-  Failure  to  achieve  it  must  be 
held  more  than  anything  else  to  condemn  our  instruction, 
be  the  cause  in  the  teacher  or  the  system.  And  it  must 
be  confessed  that  we  frequently  do  fail.  To  recognise  it 
frankly  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom. 

The  first  condition  of  success  is  facility  in  understanding 

1  For  some  of  these  suggestions  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  M.  P. 
Andrews  (Lancing  College).  Several  French  and  German  publishers 
supply  good  wall-pictures,  historical  and  other,  which  will  be  found 
useful.  The  best  plan  is  to  write  for  catalogues,  especially  to  A. 
Colin  et  Cie,  Hachette,  and  Delmas  (Boi'deaux).  ^  gg(,  §  1  (i). 


648  THK    TEAOllING    OF    MODEKN    LANUUAUES. 

the  foreign  laug-uage.  This  the  pupil  acquii-es  iu  a 
systematic  way  by  the  method  adopted  in  the  Linguistic 
Course.  Our  dwtj,  however,  is  not  only  to  give  him  the 
key  to  the  treasure  house,  but  to  make  sure  that  he  turns 
the  lock  and  enters  to  find  what  it  has  in  store.  In  other 
words  he  must,  during  the  school  'period,  learn  to  regard 
foreign  books  as  literatvu-e  and  not  merely  as  a  basis  for 
linguistic  exercises. 

A  beginning  can  be  made  as  soon  as  the  class  can  with- 
out much  difficulty  follow  a  simple  story  read  out  by  the 
teacher.  Such  reading  might  take  place  at  least  once  a 
week.  It  is  not  essential  that  erery  word  should  be  imder- 
stood.  The  essential  is  that  the  class  should  grasp  the 
sense  well  enough  to  be  keenly  interested  in  the  story  itself. 
This  once  achieved,  the  rest  is  easy.  That  it  can  be  achieved, 
provided  the  lesson  is  conducted  in  the  right  spirit,  is 
beyond  dispute.  Lack  of  interest  will  most  probably  be 
due  either  to  the  story  being  unsuitable  or  too  difficult. 

Later  the  reading  may  be  done  by  the  pupils  them- 
selves. Uncommon  words  should  be  explained  at  once,  but 
difficulties  that  are  not  beyond  the  ability  of  the  class  to 
understand  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  overcome  without 
aid.  The  habit  of  scrutinising  a  passage  imtil  it  gives  up 
its  meaning  without  the  necessity  of  resort  to  dictionary 
or  teacher  should  be  encouraged.  No  attempt,  however, 
should  be  made  to  introduce  vocabulary  driU.  Once  the 
meaning  is  clear,  the  reading  proceeds. 

If  it  is  urged  that  this  rapid  reading  is  superficial  read- 
ing, the  answer  is,  firstly,  that  it  suffices,  nevertheless,  to 
achieve  the  purpose  in  view;  namely,  the  creation  of  an 
interest  iu  reading  foreign  works  for  their  own  sake.  It 
results,  secondly,  in  the  acquisition  of  a  considerable  voca- 
bulary by  unconscious  assimilation,  the  same  process  that 
is  responsible  for   much   the   larger   part    of   the   native 


METHOt*    LS    THE    LITEKARY    CUUKSE.  049 

vocabulary  we  each  possess.  The  commoner  words  iu  fact 
impress  themselves  bj  repetitiou  upon  the  memory,  and  the 
recurrence  of  each  in  a  number  of  different  contexts  ensures 
the  building  up  by  accretion  of  its  full  connotation.' 

It  must,  further,  be  remembered  that  side  by  side  with 
the  rapid  or  extensive  reading  there  is  the  detailed  treat- 
ment of  the  text  that  forms  the  basis  of  the  linguistic 
course,  and  later  also  the  close  study  of  selected  master- 
pieces by  the  methods  proper  to  literary  appreciation,  the 
aim  being  to  bring  out  as  fully  as  possible  not  only  the 
beauty  of  the  form  as  seen  in  the  fitness  of  its  wording,  the 
harmony  of  its  rhythm,  the  unity  of  its  parts,  but  also 
the  significance  of  its  content.  Here,  again,  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  end  in  view  and  destroy 
interest  by  academic  subtleties.  And  due  regard  must  be 
paid  to  the  "  right  to  discover." 

The  same  cautions  apply  to  teaching  the  history  of 
literature,  which  becomes  positively  mischievous  if  made 
a  substitute  for  reading  the  masterpieces  themselves.  It 
should  not  in  any  case  be  introduced  except  incidentally, 
until  the  reading  has  been  wide  and  the  interest  created. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  it  should  have  any  place  in  the  school 
curriculum  as  a  systematic  study  beyond  providing  the 
map  of  the  foreign  literature  to  wliich  allusion  was  made  in 
a  former  section. - 

In  good  middle  and  in  upper  forms,  much  of  the  rapid 
reading  may  be  done  at  home  instead  of  in  class,  so  many 
chapters  of  a  book  being  read,  and  then  discussed  orally 
in  class,  questions  upon  it  being  asked  and  answered  in  the 
foreign  tongue,  or  a  summary  of  the  content  requu-ed,  the 
latter  providing  a  good  exercise  in  free  composition.     In 

'  In  this  connection  should  be  read  71ie  Modern  Language 
Learner's  Vocabulary,  by  Prof.  W.  Rippmann  (ilforZ.  I^avg.  Teaching, 
Vol.  4,  No.  8,  Dee.  1908).  2  §  4  (i),  p.  573. 


650  THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

connectiou  with  the  extensive  reading,  form  libraries  should 
be  established,  and  also  reading  circles,  consisting  of  top  form 
pupils,  teachers,  and  friends,  Avith  a  view  to  encouraging  a 
habit  of  reading  foreign  l)Ooks  as  a  recreation.  "  The  form 
library  would  have  to  be  chosen  very  carefully,  with  due 
grading  in  difficulty,  so  that  on  the  one  hand  discourage- 
ment might  not  ensiie  from  difficult  or  abstruse  books  being 
supplied  too  early,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  dignity  of  the 
form  not  be  insulted  by  literature  of  too  childish  a  type."^ 
The  best  test  that  a  teacher  can  have  of  the  worth  of  his 
method  is  the  use  made  of  this  librarv. 

What  progress  can  be  made  in  literary  culture  depends 
largely  upon  the  time  that  has  to  be  devoted  to  the  lin- 
guistic course.  The  proldem  of  striking  the  just  l^alance  is 
one  of  the  most  pressing  and  difficult  that  faces  the  foreign 
language  teacher.  There  can  l>e  little  doubt  that  at  present 
the  linguistic  side  is  iniduly  favoured,  and  has  been  soever 
since  the  introduction  of  foreign  languages  as  a  regular 
part  of  a  modern  curriculum.  What  the  Eeform  has 
achieved  is  the  substitution  of  the  living  language  for  the 
grammar  book.    It  has  still  to  win  for  the  literature  its  due. 

7.  What  follows  applies  equally  to  translation  from  and 

into  the  foreign  tongue,  but  the  latter,  as  al- 

Method  of  ready  pointed  out,-  is  scarcely  likely  to  prove 

lat°onTsI'"Frne'^  profitable  exercise  except  in  the  case  of  a 

Art.  very  advanced  form. 

The  pupil  will  be  spared  many  mistakes 
if,  for  some  time  at  least,  the  Avork  is  done  orally  in  class. 

'  MissF.  M.  Purdie:  Training  in  Literary  Appreciation  [Modern 
Lanyuaije  Teaching,  Vol.  4,  No.  5,  July  1908).  An  excellent  arti- 
cle by  Miss  V.  Partington  on  the  Teaching  oj  French  in  Higher 
Forms  (id.,  Vol.  5,  No.  1,  Feb.  1909)  should  also  be  read.  And  sec 
Max  Walter  :  Z^^r  Methodik  des  neusprachlichen  Unterrichts,  65-67. 

-  See  §  4  (iii). 


MEfHOD    IN    TEACHING    TRANSLATION.  651 

The  passage  clioseii  sliovild  be  short  and  of  the  best.^  This, 
Avhen  it  has  been  read  through  and  tlie  sense  made  clear, 
should  be  taken  sentence  by  sentence,  all  the  pupils  co- 
operating to  produce  the  best  possible  rendering,  the 
teacher  confining  himself  to  rejecting  anything  that  does 
not  reach  the  required  standard.  Whether  the  final  render- 
ing takes  one  or  many  lessons  to  produce  is  unimportant. 
The  essential  is  that  when  the  task  has  been  once  imder- 
taken,  it  should  be  done  with  the  utmost  care,  a  whole 
lesson  being  devoted  to  one  sentence  if  necessary. 

Polissez-le  sans  cesse  et  le  I'epolissez. 
If  the  lesson  is  skilfully  conducted,  due  praise  being 
given  for  anv  happy  contriljution  to  the  joint  work,  the 
pupils  will  take  a  genuine  pleasure  in  it,  and  this  must  be 
our  aim,  for  we  have  not  to  produce  a  fine  rendering  only, 
but  to  make  it  the  means  of  inspiring  joy  in  the  beauty  of 
words,  and  respect  f(jr  the  artistic  qualities  of  our  native 
tongue  in  particular. 

The  following  is  a  select  list  of  books  for  the  teachers  use.  A 
more  detailed  bibliography  will  be  found  for  German  in  Dr.  Breul's 
Ttachhirj  of  Modern  ForeAgii  Languages  {At\\  edit.),  and  for  French 
in  Dr.  Braunholz's  Books  of  Reference  for  Students  and  Teachers  of 
French. 

On  Methods  of  Teaching. 

W.Vietor :  (Quousque Tandem)  Der 
Sprachunterricht  muss  umkehren,  (Henninger, 

1882,  3rd  edit,  (with  notes),  1905         8d.  HeiUn-onn.) 

This  book  has  a  special  interest  as  marking  more  than  any  other 
the  beginning  of  the  Reform  Movement. 

Max  Walter :  Aneiguungund  Verar- 

beitung  des  Wortschatzes,   1907         1/-     (Elwert,  Marburg. 


^  Excellent  advanced  passages  are  to  be  found  almost  monthly  in 
the  Journal  of  Education. 


(i52 


THil    TKAOHINCI    OI'    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 


Max  Walter:  Ziir  Methodikdesneu- 
sprachlichen  Unterrichts,  1908... 

A.  Uubrulle:  Explication desTextes 
franyais,  3rd  edit.,  1904 

Dictionaries.       (Tlic    muro     expensive 
chosen,  when  possible.) 

Hatzfeld,  Darniosteter  and  Thomas: 
Dictionnaire  general  de  la  langue 
f  ran9aise.  Etymological  and  ex- 
planatory ...  ...  half  calf 

Littr6  :  Dictionnaire  i\i'  la  langne 
fran9ai.se.  Aljrege  par  A.  Bcau- 
jean  ...  ...  half  calf 

G'asc's  Frencli  Dictionaiy.  New 
edit.  

!Moriz  Heyne  :  JJeixtsches  Worter- 
hiich.  3  A'ols.  Revised  edit., 
1905-{J         half  calf 

H.   Paiil :    Deutsches  ^Vurterbllcll 

Grieb-Scluiier.        ]<'nglisli-(4ernian. 

Vol.  i '.  

German-English.       \'()1.  ii. 

Breul :  Cassell's  Xew  German  1  )ic- 
tionary 

Lafaye  :  Dictionnaire  des  8yno- 
nymes 

]<I.  Sommer :  Petit  Dictionnaire  des 
fSynonymes  fran^ais 

De  V.  Paj'cn-Payne :  Erench 
Idioms  and  Proverbs 

Carr6 :  Le  "\^ocabulaire  franyais. 
Livres  dii  Maitre.  Conrs  Prepara- 
toire,  1  - ;  Conrs  Elt^mentaire, 
1/3  ;  Moyen  et  Superieur 

lOberhard  :  Syiionymisches  Hand- 
wurteibnch  der  deutschen 
Sprache.     16th  edit.,  1904 

Nutt's  English-Frencli  Conversa- 
tioi\  Dictionarv     ... 


2/-  (Elwert,  Marburg.) 

3/-  (Belin,  Paris.) 
alternatives     should    be 

30/-  (Delagrave,  Paris.) 

14/-       (Hachette,  Paris.) 

12/0  (Bell.) 

30  -  (Hirzel,  Leipzig.) 

10/-  (Niemeyer,  Halle.) 

14  -  (Neff,  Stuttgart.) 

12/-  (Neff,  Stuttgart.) 

7/t)  net.       (Cassell.) 

21/-  (Hachette.) 

1/8  (Hachette.) 

3  6  (Nutt.) 

2,6  (Colin,  Paris.) 

i;V6  (Leipzig.) 
2/6 


THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 


653 


Nutt's  English-German  Conversa- 
tion Dictionary    ... 

Sachs-Villate :  Handwurterbueh 
(Franzosisch-Deiitsch,  Deutsch- 
Franzosi.sch) 

Grammars. 
Brachet   and  Diissouchet :    Gram- 
maire  Francaise.      Cours   8upe- 
rieur.     Revised  by  Rocque.s 
G.  Stier  :  Franz'isische  Syntax     ... 

Weekley  :  Tutorial  Fi-ench  S^'ntax 
A.  Darmesteter :  Cours  de  Gram- 
maire  liistorique  de  la  Langue 
fran5aise.  Four  parts  :  Plioiie- 
ti(£ue,  par  Muret,  2/- ;  Morplio- 
logie,  par  .Sudre,  2/- ;  Formation 
des  Mots,  par  Sudre  2/- ;  >Syn- 
taxe,  par  Sudre,  2/6 

Translation  by  A.  Hartog 


2/6 
15/-  net,  or  in  two  parts 
8/-  net  each.    (Haar  and 
Steinert,   Pai'is.) 


2/-    (Haohette.) 
6/-    (Zwissler, 

Wolfeiibiiltel.) 
3/6     (Univ.  Tut.  Press.) 


8/6     (Delagrave,  Paris.) 
12/6     Vol.  II.  3/6. 

(Maemillan.) 
1.5/-  net.     (Maemillan.) 

6/-  net.     (Putnams.) 


2/6     (Lang,  Karlsruhe.) 


G.  O.  Curme  :  German  Granunar 
H.  G.  Brandt :  German  Gi'ammar 
F.  Blatz  :  Neuhochdeutsche  Soliul- 

grammatik 
O.    Brenner  :    (irundziige  der   ge- 

schichtlichen     Grammatik     der 

deutschen  Sprache 

Phonetics.     (English  phonetics  are  included,  a  knowledge  of  the 
subject  being  important  to  the  Foreign  Language  Teacher. ) 


6  net. 


(Lindauer, 
Miinclien.) 


Sweet:  Primer  of  Phonetics 
Vietor  and  Rippmann  :  Elements 

of  Phonetics 
Dumville  :  Science  of  Speech 
Sweet:  Sounds  of  Englisli 
Passy  :  Sounds  of  the  French  Lan- 
guage.   Trans.  Savor}'  and  Jones 
Vietor  and  Savory  :    Sounds  of  the 
German  Language  (in  preparation) 


3/6     (Clarendon  Press.) 

2/6  net.     (Dent.) 

2/6     (Univ.  Tut.  Press.) 

2/6     (Clarendon  Press. ) 

2/6     (Clarendon  Press.) 
(Clarendon  Press. ) 


G54 


THK    TEACHINa    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 


Le  Maitre  Phont^stique,  Organ  of 
the  International  Phonetic  Asso- 
ciation.     Subscription  5  francs. 

INIicliaelis  et  Passy  :  Dictionnaire 
Phonetique 

Vietor,  W.  :  Deutsches  Aussprache- 
worterbucli  (in  preparation) 

E.  Legouve  :  Art  de  la  Lecture   . . . 

History  of  Literature. 

P.    de   Juleville :     Histoire   de   la 

langue  et  de  la  Litterature  fran- 

gaises.     8  vols.,  each  unbound  ... 
G.  Lanson  :  Hist,  de  la  Litterature 

fran9aise    ... 
W.  Scherer  :  Geschielite  der  deut- 

schenLitteratur  ... 
Robertson :     History    of    German 

Literature,  2  vols. 


G.  Freytag  :   Tecknik  des  Dramas 

Prosody. 

F.   Kauffmann :    Deutsche  Metrik 
F.  Spencer:  A  Primer  of  French  Verse 
Kastner  :  History  of  French  Verse 
Brandin  and  Hartog  :   A  Book  of 
French  Prosody   ... 

History,  Oeography,  and  Customs. 

E.  Lavisse  :  Histoire  de  France,  7 
vols,  .so  far 

A.  Rambaud  :  Histoire  de  la  Civi- 
lisation con  temporaine    ... 

E.  Lavisse :  La  nouvelle  Premiers 
Ann^e  d'Histoire  de  France 

A.    Aulard :    Elements   d'lnstruc- 
tion  civique 

Lamprecht :  Deutsche  Geschichte, 
11  vols,  in  14  vols,  paper 
2  supplementary  vols,  in  3,  paper 


(See  note  p.  40.) 

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THE    TEACHING    OF    MODERN    LANGUAGES.  655 

O.  Kiimniel  :  Deutsche  Geschichte        12/t)  neb.     (Giirlner.) 

D.  Miiller :    Leitfaden     zur     Ge- 

scliiohte  des  deutschen  Volkes  ...         2/6  net.     (Berlin.) 
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und  Hans 7  6  net.     (Wiesbaden.) 

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graphie       ...         ...  ...  ...         1/6       (Colin,  Paris.) 

E.  Debes  :  Schulatlas         1/6 

Innumerable  ■works  on  Life  and  Ways  have  been  written.  For 
France  maj'  be  noted  those  byBodley,  H.  Ljneh,  Betham-Edwards, 
P.  G.  Hamerton,  Hillebrand.  For  Germany  :  W.  H.  Dawson,  Mrs. 
Alfred  Sidgwick. 

For  current  articles  on  methods  of  insti'uction  the  teacher  should 
read  {\)  Modern  Language  Teacliing,  the  monthly  official  organ  of 
the  Modern  Language  Association.^      Annual  subscription  4/-  to 


^  The  Modern  Language  Association,  which  now  (1909)  has  a 
membership  of  over  700,  has  for  objects — 

(a)  To  raise  the  standard  of  efficiency  in  the  teaching  of 
Modern  Languages  and  promote  their  study  in  our  schools  and 
Universities  and  in  the  country  generally  ; 

[h)  To  obtain  for  Modern  Langixages  the  status  in  the  edii- 
cational  curricula  of  the  country  to  which  their  intrinsic  value, 
as  instruments  of  mental  discipline  and  culture,  entitles  them 
■ — apart  from  their  acknowledged  scientific  and  utilitarian  im- 
portance ; 

(c)  To  provide  means  of  communication  for  students  and 
teachers  of  foreign  languages,  by  publishing  a  journal  or 
journals  and  b}'  holding  meetings,  debates,  or  conferences,  for 
the  discussion  of  language,  literature,  methods  of  teaching,  etc. 

Members  of  the  Association  consist  of  teachers  of  Modern  Lan- 
guages, and  others  interested  in  the  study  of  Modern  Languages. 

The  annual  subscription  is  7/6.  This  covers  the  subscription  to 
Modern  Language  Teaching,  and  gives  access  to  the  Loan  Library, 
lantern  slides,  etc.,  of  the  Association- 


656  THE    TEACHINO    OP    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

non-members.  Free  to  members.  (A.  and  C.  Black. )  (2)  Les  Languea 
modernes,  monthly  organ  of  the  Soeiete  des  Professeurs  de  Langues 
Vivantes.  Subscription  6/-,  but  supplied  at  half  the  rate  to 
members  of  the  English  Modern  Language  Association.  (H.  Dupre, 
2.")  Boulevard  de  Yaugirard,  Paris.)  (8)  Die  neueren  Sprachen, 
Herausgegeben  von  W.  Vii'tor,  12/-  yearly.     (Klwei-t,  Marburg.) 


ADDENDUM. 


AN  EXPERIMENT  IN  KESEARCH.i 

With  Suggestions. 

The  following  experiment  will  suffice  perhaps  to  illus- 
trate more  clearly  than  any  desci'iptiou  tlie  application  of 
the  experimental  method  to  a  problem  of  linguistic  insti'uc- 
tiou.  Beyond  serving  this  purpose  it  is  too  incomplete 
and  tentative  to  have  much  value. 

RECORDING   ^IISTAKES. 

The  object  was  to  find  out  how  long  it  takes  to  eradicate 
a  blunder  once  made.  Arguing  a  priori  one  would  con- 
elude  that,  unless  the  correction  were  repeated  more  or 
less  often,  the  mistake  would  tend  to  persist,  for  as  a  rule 
its  perpetration  costs  the  learner  more  effort  and  is  attended 
with  more  interest  tlian  its  rectification.  Now  if  it  is  true 
that  a  mistake  is  more  likely  to  be  remembered  than  its 
correction  made  once,  it  follows  that,  if  the  former  is  to  be 
eradicated,  the  correction  must  be  repeated  the  necessary 
number  of  times.     As  this  method  of  cin-e  involves  much 

^  111  its  first  form  tliis  note  ai:)peared  in  Ifoderii  Language 
Teaching  (April  1905),  and  was,  as  far  as  ilodern  Language 
Instruction  is  concerned,  probably  the  first  experiment  of  the 
kind  made. 

PR.  TG.  657  .  42 


658  ADDENDtrM. 

more  time  and  labour  tliau  the  method  of  prevention,  it 
follows  that  any  form  of  instruction  which  sets  a  premium 
upon  blundeiing  should  be  condemned.  These  deductions, 
however,  are  far  from  meeting  with  general  acceptance, 
witness  the  still  common  practice  of  giving  unprepared 
dictations  or  unprepared  passages  for  translation  into 
the  foreign  language,  not  as  an  occasional  test,  which 
is  in  any  case  legitimate,  but  as  a  regular  means  of 
instruction.  Experimental  proof  to  settle  the  matter 
one  way  or  the  other  is  therefore  necessary.  Even  if  it 
only  serves  to  enforce  the  conclusion  reached  a  lyriorl, 
it  will  at  least  have  removed  it  from  the  region  of  debate 
into  that  of  demonstrated  fact. 

The  mistakes  here  to  be  dealt  with  are  both  oral  and 
written.  The  former  are  difficult  to  record  except  in  classes 
where  more  than  one  teacher  {e.ij.  a  student  teacher)  is 
present.  In  his  absence,  the  best  plan  is  to  pick  out  a  few 
typical  pupils,  and  record  their  errors  on  a  slip  of  paper  as 
soon  as  made. 

The  following  particulars  should  be  given  about  each 
pupil  whose  mistakes  are  recorded: — (1)  sex;  (2)  age; 
(3)  natural  capacity  in  not  more  than  four  terms :  clever 
(cl.),  average  (av.),  dull  (dl.),  abnormally  dull  (ab.). 
Allowance  Avould,  of  course,  have  to  be  made  for  the 
different  interpretations  given  to  these  terms  by  different 
observers.  The  date  and  hour  of  the  entry  of  each  mis- 
take should  be  stated.  The  hour  is  important,  as  it  may 
serve  incidentally  to  show  whether,  owing  to  mental 
fatigue  or  other  causes,  mistakes  are  more  numerous  on 
the  average  at  certain  times  than  at  others. 

While  the  investigation  is  proceeding  it  is  best  to  make 
no  attempt  to  forecast  the  conclusion.  Attention  should 
be  strictly  limited  to  recording  the  facts  with  the  utmost 
accuracy. 


ADDENDUM.  669 

The  followiuL?  is  a  record  of  an  oral  luistiike  made  by  aii 
abuormallj  dull  boy.  It  is  exceptional,  but  none  the  less 
valuable  for  that.  The  mistake  consisted  iu  prelixiug  the 
feraiuiue  article  ime  to  the  Avord  tableaio  in  answer  to  the 
question  Quest-ce  que  ceci  ^  Each  entry  refers  to  a 
different  lesson,  all  given  in  a  public  school  by  the  writer. 
His  method,  after  the  first  lesson,  Avas  either  in  revision  or 
at  any  opportune  moment  to  point  to  the  blackboai'd,  ask 
the  pupil  the  question,  as  if  it  came  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  business,  and  have  the  answer  corrected  when  wrong  Ijy 
the  pupil  himself.  The  W  means  that  the  answer  was 
wrongly  given,  K  rightly  given,  WR  wrongly  given,  but 
immediately  corrected  by  the  pupil. 


Hecoi'd  I. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5          0          7 

8 

9 

10 

vv 

W 

W 

W 

W      K     WK 

R 

K 

li 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  mistake  was  regularly  repeated 
up  to  Lesson  5.  In  Lesson  6  the  word  was  given  correctly. 
The  WE  in  Lesson  7  was  due  to  momentary  flurry,  and  is 
interesting  as  showing  that  in  the  absence  of  concentrated 
attention  the  W  impression  was  still  dominant — in  other 
words,  that  the  E  impression  had  not  yet  become  habitual. 
By  Lesson  10  the  blunder  was  eradicated,  or  appeared  to 
be  so,  for  it  is  just  possible  that  after  a  lapse  of  time,  say 
a  term,  it  might  have  been  revived  more  readily  than  the 
rival  impression. 

The  chief  immediate  use,  at  the  time,  of  this  record  was 
that  it  showed  the  necessity  of  following  up  a  boy's  mis- 
take. In  the  case  of  ordinary  pupils  the  mistake  was 
eliminated  in  about  the  third  lesson. 

It  is  of  coiu'se  possible  to  deal  with  written  mistakes  in 
a  much  more  complete  manner.     The  pupils  referred  to  in 


660 


ADDENDUM. 


the  following  records  were  the  three  top  boys  of  a  class  of 
twelve  in  a  public  school.  They  were  of  average  ability. 
Age  ten.  Each  entry  (1-13)  refers  to  a  sepai*ate  written 
test. 

Record  II. 


Pupil 

1 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

S 

0      10 

11 

12 

13 

1 

dictee 

R 

R 

R 

dictee 

WT 

WT 

R 

R      R 

WO 

R 

2 

dictee 

K 

R 

dictae 

WO 

WO    R 

dictee 

WT 

R 

R 

R 

R 

3 

cing 

WP 

WP 

R 

cinque 

WT    R 

WR 

R 

R  =  Right. 

WT  =  Wrong  and  corrected  in  writing  by  tlie  Teaclier,  tlie  piipil's  attention  b.inp; 
dii'ected  to  the  mistake. 

WP  =  Wrong  and  corrected  by  the  Pupil  on  being  pointed  out  by  tlie  teacher. 

WO  =  Wrong  and  not  corrected  in  writing  at  all. 

AYR  =  Wrong,  but  the  error  crossed  out  and  Rectified  bj'  the  pujiil  «liile  the  test 
■was  being  written. 

The  following  interesting  points  may  be  noted  in  the 
above : — Boys  Nos.  1  and  2  started  with  the  correct  speUing. 
The  mistake  was  due  to  the  introduction  of  the  grave  accent 
for  the  first  time  in  connection  with  the  ordinals.  It  was 
the  introduction  of  the  same  disturbing  factor  Ihat  caused 
the  variant  blunder  c Hi ^?<e  (cf.  cinquicme).  More  careful 
teaching  would  have  oliviated  botli.  These  records  have, 
by  the  way,  an  awkward  trick  of  bringing  the  fault  to  the 
door  of  the  teacher.  In  column  11  the  WO  and  in  column 
8  the  dictee  are  also  interesting  and  not  a  little  perplexing. 
A  further  point  is  that,  as  far  as  the  above  record  is  con- 
cerned, it  seems  to  matter  little  whether  the  mistake  is 
corrected  in  writing  by  the  boy,  the  master,  or  not  at  all, 
provided  there  is  correction  by  oral  spelling.  But  conclu- 
sions are  premature  until  several  hundred  similar  records 
are  to  hand. 


ADDENDUM.  661 

The  following  are  a  few  subjects  of  practical  importance 
that  may  be  found  to  lend  themselves  to  experimental 
investigation  : — 

(1)  The  causes  that  make  one  pupil  less  capable  than 
another  of  learning  languages,  and  the  question  as  to  how 
far  and  by  what  means  these  causes  are  removable. 

(2)  The  extent  of  the  disturbing  influence  upon  pro- 
nunciation of  the  use  of  nomic  spelling. 

(3)  Methods  of  avoiding  the  occurrence  of  phonetic 
symbols  in  written  work  after  the  nomic  spelling  has  been 
introduced. 

(4)  The  comparative  value,  as  judged  by  some  common 
memory  test,  of  the  various  direct  methods  of  teaching 
vocabulary  and  grammar.^ 

The  chief  object  of  the  first  attempts  to  investigate 
experimentally  the  above  problems  will  be  to  siibmit  to 
very  close  scrutiny  the  method  of  investigation  itself.  Even 
when  a  method  that  merits  the  name  of  scientific  has  lieen 
worked  out,  the  results  of  its  appHcation  to  the  study  of 
education  can  seldom  be  more  than  approximately  correct 
owing  both  to  the  complexity  of  the  subject  and  to  the 
difiiculty  of  obtaining  identity  of  conditions,  especially  in 
respect  to  such  important  factors  as  the  age  of  the  puj)ils, 
theii'  stage  of  progress,  the  size  of  the  class,  the  time-table, 
the  teacher's  qualification,  and  his  standard  of  vakies. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  repeating  experiments  and  obseiwa- 
tions  a  considerable  number  of  times.    Hence  also  the  need, 

^  For  a  detailed  form  of  enquiry  into  the  relative  merits  of  the 
direct  and  indirect  method  see  Die  ExperimenteJld  Piidarjogik. 
Organ  der  Arbeitsgemeinschaft  fur  experim.  Piidagogik.  Heraus- 
gegeben  von  Dr.  W.  A.  Lang  und  Dr.  E.  Meumann.  Band  III. 
Kinzelpreis  Mk.  8  (0.  Nemnich,  Leipzig).  For  a  less  exhaustive 
treatment  of  the  same  question  see  An  Experiment  in  Method  by 
the  present  writer  in  Modern  Lant/itage  Tearhing,  Vol.  4,  No.  7. 
1908, 


662  ADDENDUM. 

not  yet  recognised,  for  a  body  of  trained  investigators,  a 
new  Icind  of  Special  Inquiries  Department,  free  to  give  its 
whole  time  to  the  worlc,  and  set  to  find  out  only  the 
things  that  matter— that  is,  that  the  teachers  need  to 
know. 

It  is  only  right  to  add  that  the  hest  method  of  research 
and  the  l»est  method  of  teaching  Avill  avail  little  unless  we 
can  secure  an  amelioration  of  the  conditions  under  which 
the  w^oi'k  in  the  class-room  takes  place.  In  respect  to  the 
teacher,  fewer  hours  of  class  teaching  (not  more  than  20 
a  week)  and  a  higher  average  salary  are  needed.  There 
should  l>e  a  maximum  limit  to  the  size  of  the  classes,  and 
a  grading  of  the  various  types  of  schools  that  will  render 
impossible  the  discreditable  and  much  too  prevalent  system 
of  drafting  at  a  late  stage  from  one  school  into  another 
l^upils  wdio,  knowing  no  foreign  language,  disorganise  the 
work  of  classes  that  have  already  made  a  fair  start.  Ecjually 
important  is  it  to  ensure  that  adequate  time  is  given  to 
each  language  taught  instead  of,  as  at  present,  exacting 
so  many  languages,  ancient  and  modern,  regardless  as  to 
whether  they  can  be  properly  taught  or  not.  And,  finally, 
we  shall  sooner  or  later  be  compelled  to  distinguish  between 
liberty  to  teach  well  and  licence  to  tea,ch  liadly.  At  present 
both  exist.  Wo  need  only  the  former,  and  every  means, 
including  efficient  inspection  and  examination,  must  be 
taken  to  stimulate  it  to  the  iitmost.'  Biit  the  difficulties 
in  the  w^ay  must  not  prevent  us  from  setting  to  work.  The 
essential  is  to  make  a  l)eginning,  though  it  be  tentative. 

'  For  a  compact  survey  of  the  whole  suliject  see  the  Report  on  the 
Conditions  of  Modern  [Foreign)  Language  Infttruction  in  Secondary 
Schools  (1908),  published  hj  the  Modern  Language  Association, 
which  can  be  had  on  application  to  the  Hon.  Secretary.  (Price  Gd. 
post  free.) 


INDEX. 


A  BOUT' ^      'EOI      DES 
Mo  n  tag  n  e  .-t, '     p  a  s  sage 
quoted,  620 
Accentuation  :  meaning  of,  ,184 
,,  :  teaching  of,  590 

Accessories  in  teaching  foreign 

languages,  646 
Activity  :  conceptual,  48-9 

,,         :     perceptual,     49-51  ; 
485-8  ;  493-7 
Addition,  421  ;  423  ;  447-8 
Adenoids  and  pronunciation,  585 
Adjective  inflections  in  French, 

633-4 
Adverbs  iti  French,  635 
Age  and  foreign  languages,  579- 

80 
Agents  of  education,   4  ;    13-6  ; 

23 
Aim  of  education,  4-13 
Almanack  and  foreign  languages, 
646  »         o     g    , 

Alphabetic  methods  of  teaching 

reading,  114-5 
Ambidexterity,  516 
Ambiguities  in  language,  182-3 
Analysis  :  grammatical,  182-4 
AiKlrev»,  Jf.  P.  :  on  accessories 
in  teaching 
foreign  lan- 
guages, 647 
,,  :    on    oi'der    of 

t  e  a  e  li  i  n  g 
sounds,  5S8 
Application  of  knowledge  :    les- 
sons for,  94-7 
,,  of   tests   of    educa- 

tional value,  30-5 
Approximations  in  mathematics, 
442 


Aquaria,  377-8 

Area  :     Geographical,      308-12 
315-20 
:  measurement  of,  456-7 
Aristotle :  on  aim  of  education,  2 
Arithmetic  :  apparatus  in,  458 
:  drill  in,  430 
:  empirical     stage, 

410-7 
:  historj^  of,  442-6 
:  practical,       431-3  ; 

■±37;  454-7 
:  rational      stage, 

434-5 
:  relation     to      geo- 
metry, 414-5 
:  stages  in  teaching, 
415-6 
,.  :  teaching  of,  452-4 

Arnold,  Jf. :  on  passages  for  reci- 
tation, 140 
Arrangement      of      instruction, 

42-7 
Article :  definite  in  French,  632-3 
Articulation,  109-11 
Avebiirf/,  Lard:  on  active  read- 
ing, 145 
,,  :  on  aim  of  edu- 

cation, 12-3 
.,  :  on    j^atriotism, 

228-9 
Axioms  :  in  mathematics,  475-6 
,,        :  metliod     of     teaching, 
47G-9 

BACOX:     OX    STUDIES, 
quoted,  175 
Bacon  :  on  travel,  281 

;  treatment    of    passages 
from,  156-8 


663 


6G4 


Bahlsen:    methods   of    te.icliing 
foreign  pronunciation,  592 

Basis  of  method,  G7-9 

Beauty :  training  in  appreciation 
of,  489-90 

Beginner's  course  in  foreign  lan- 
guage, 584-603 

Beginning    of    lessons,    prompt, 
5o-7 

Bell  and  education  of  poor,  7 

Blackboard  in  teaching  modern 
languages,  627 ;  647 

Books  :     learning    from,     82- i  ; 
267-8  ;  272-3  ;  351-2 

Books  recommended— 
in  Drawing,  530 
in  English,  191-2 
in  Gardening,  530 
in  Geograph}^,  35G 
in  Handicraft,  530 
in  History,  275-7 
in  ilathematics,  482-3 
in  Modelling,  530 
in  Modern  Languages,  051-5 
in  Music,  220 
in  Natural  History,  403-4 
in  Needlework,  556 

Bourne:  on  discovery,  257 

,,      ,  (/.  .•  on  reading  poetry, 

131-3 
,,      ,  ,,  :  on  rhyme,  144 

Boys'  voices,  205-6 

Breathing  exercises,  203-5 

Brereton,  G. :  on  Italian  in  girls' 
schools,  581-2 

British  Isles  :    teacliing  geogra- 
phy of,  312-25 

Broume,   Crichton :  on  develop- 
ment of  brain,  495-7 

Brush  drawing,  511 

Button-holes,  545-6 

CARDBOARD:     HANDI- 
craft  in,  519-20 
Cardinal  points  :    determination 

of,  297-8 
Carving  in  wood,  501  ;  518-9 
(celandine  :  lessons  on,  399-401 


Chai'acteristics  of  good  method, 

52-61 
Chart,  phonetic,  590-1 
Choice  of  passages  for  recitation, 

139-40 
Choirs  :  school,  196 
Church,  as  agent  of  education,  4; 

IG 
Circle  :     teaching   geometry   of, 

466-8 
Classes  of  lessons,  72-3 
Class  excursions,  292-3  ;   293-4  ; 
370-7 
,,     libraries,  138 
Class-room  terms  in  foreign  lan- 
guages, 601 
Classics  and  modern  languages, 

582 
Climate  :  study  of,  31G-S  ;  337- 

41 
Clock-face  :   use  of,  in  teaching 

modern  languages,  {)47 
Clothing  :  repair  of,  551-3 
Collections   by  school   children, 

386-8 
Commerce  and  foreign  languages, 

561  ;  509 
Commercial  relations  :  study  of, 

320-3 
Communication  :      foreign     lan- 
guages as  means  of,  561 
Composition  :  Englisli,    and   na- 
ture study, 383 ; 
389-90 
,,  and  reading,  180 

,,  :  correction  of,  180-1 

,,  :  earl}^  teaching  of, 

176-7 
,,  :  function  of,  173-5 

.,  :  imaginative,     179- 

80 
,,  :  later  teaching  of, 

177-80 
,.  :  in      foreign      lan- 

guages, 642;  644; 
650-1 
Concentration  of  studies,  42-5 
Conceptual  activity,  49-5 J 


INDEX. 


665 


Concerts  :  school,  196 

:  visits  to,  213 
'  Concrete  to  Abstract, '  63-4 
Conducting  in  singing,  211-2 
Connotation  of  foreign   words  : 

how  built  up,  621  ;  649 
Consonants,    foreign  :    order    of 

teaching,  588 
Construction  of  time-table,  46-7 
Continent :  teaching  geograph\- 

of,  330-1 
Continuous  answering  in  teach- 
ing modern  languages,  626;  638 
Contour  :     study    of,    299-3(X) ; 

302-5 
Copy-books,  168-9 
Correlation  of  knowledge,  45-6  ; 

583 
Courrier  vocabulary,  562 
Course  in  English,  1 87-91 

,,      in      modern     languages, 
571-83 
C7-eif/}ito7i :  on  morals  in  liistorj', 

227 
Critical  power  :  training  of ,  410- 

414 
Cubical  measurements,  433 
Curriculum  :  general  determina- 
tion of,  35-6 
,,  :  influence  of  tradi- 

tion on,  39-40 
,,  :  of  primary  school, 

35-41 
„  :  tests  of,  31-2 

DANDE  LIOX  :     L  E  S  S  O  N  S 
on,  401-2 
Darning,  552 
Decimal  notation,  440-1 
Declensions  :  German,  634 
Dee  :   on  d3\elopment   of    geo- 
metry, 459-60 
Definite  article  in  French,  632-3 
Definition  of  education,  9 
Definitions  in  geometry,  472-5 
Density  :  measurement  of,  457 
Depth  of  knowledge:    develop- 
;uent  of,  85-94 


Descartes  :  on  cure  of  national 

prejudice,  562 
Description  in  geography,  350-1 
Design,  506-7  ;  516-7 
Development  of  child  and  race, 

66-7 
Diagrams  :  phonetic,  590-1 
Dictation,  171-2 
Dictionaries  :   unilingual,  617 
Dictionary  :  use  of,  173 
Direct   connection    and    mental 
translation, 
613 
.,  ,,  :  in    foreign 

grammar 
practice , 
631-2 
.,  .,  :  in       foreign 

vocabulary 
p  ractice, 
620 
,,  ,,  :  in   interjore- 

tation,  611- 
613 
.,  .,  :  meaning  of, 

611 
Direct  studv  of   things,   78-80  ; 

294-5 
Discipline    mental,    as    test    of 

value,  26-8  ;  29-30 
Discoveries  :  teaching  historv  of, 

257 
District  round  school  :  studv  of, 

293-8 
Division,     421-3:     424-5;    429; 

448 
DodsweU :  on  ethical  ideal,  12 
Doubts  as  to  function  of  educa- 
tion, 2 
]>oirdin  :  on  knowledge  of  litera- 
ture, 137 
,.        :  on  reading  aloud,  125 
Drawing:  art  forms,  515-6 

:  books     reconnnende<l 

in,  530 
:  brush,  511 
:  course  in,  503-5;  5(»9- 

17 


666 


INDEX. 


Drawing  from  nature,  512-3 
,,        in  curriculum,  37  ;  499- 

500 
, ,         in  English  schools,  507-9 
,,         in  French  schools,  507  ; 

513-4 
,,         in   handicraft,    519-20  ; 

524-5 
,,         :  mass,  510 
,,         :  outline,  511 
:  plans,  432-3 
,,         :  I'elation      to      iiatuio 
study,  389 


EAR:    SIX(4IN(I    BY,    199- 
201 
Ear  :  training  of,  202-3 
Early  ]*jducation.  G 
'Easy  to  More  Difficult,'  02-3 
Economy  of  effort,  54-S 
Education  :  agents  of,  4  ;  lo-O 
and  life,  3  ;  16 
,,  and  teaching,  17 

.,  :  application  of  term, 

3-4 
,,  :  definition  of,  9 

,,  :  early,  6 

,,  :  function  of,  2-13 

,,  :  good  and  had,  4-5 

,,  :  (ilreek,  6-7 

,,  :  importance  of ,  1 

,,  :  mediaeval,  7 

,,  :  modern,  7-S 

.,  :  panacea     for    social 

ills,  1-2 
,,  :  value  of,  22 

Educational  value  :  tests  of,  24- 

35 
Effective  teaching,  GO-1 
I'lffort  :  economj'  of,  54-8 
Egypt :  geometry  in,  459-60 
Elocution  in  reading,  123-5 
tjmerson:  on  foreign  countries, 
282 
,,      :  on      human     interde- 
pendence, 280 
Emphasis  in  reading,  129-30 


'  Empirical  to  Rational,'  63-4 
English  :    bojks     I'ecommended 
in,  191-2 
,,       :  course  in,  187-91 
,,      in  curriculum,  36 
,,      in  infant  school,  103-12 
,,      in  senior  school,  120 
,,       :  teaching  of,  185-7 
Etymology  :  in  teaching  foreign 

languages,  615 
Events  :  direct  studj-  of.  78-80 
I'^xaminations,  32-3  ;  673  ;  683 
Excursions  :    geographical,    292- 
3  ;  293-4 
,,  :  nature  study,  370-7 

Exeter  Higli   tSchool   for   fxii-ls, 

574 
Experimenting,  92-3 
]'iXplanati(jn  in  foreign  language, 

606-619 
Expression  in  reading,  127-8 

in      speech,      107-9  ; 
164;    175-6 
,,  :  oral   and   written, 

175-6 


FACTORS   IN  TEACHING, 
19 

Facts  and  ideas   in   geography, 

289-90 
Facts  and  ideas  in  historj',  241-3 
Faculties  :     training    of,     26-8  ; 

409-10 
Faculty  psychology  and  classics, 
583 
,,  ,,         and     trans- 

lation, 567-8 
Fairy  Tales  :   Grimm's,  570 
Family  as  agent  of  education,  4  ; 

14-5;  17 
Fells  :  arrangement  of,  541-2 
FincUay,  J.  J.  :   on  relation   be- 
tween rule  and  practice,  029 
Fischer:  on   scenerj'   of    Spain, 

346 
Force  :  measurement  of,  457 
Foreign  languages,  102  ;  557-651 


INDEX. 


667 


Foreign  Languages  :    books  re- 
commended 
in,  651-5 
,,  „  :   use  in  class- 

room, 577- 
8;       600; 
603  ;  613 
Form  :  aesthetic  aspect  of,  489- 
90 
, ,      :  apprehension  of,  485-8 
,,      :  as   mode   of    expression, 

484-5 
,,     in  literatiu-e,  143-5;  151-5 
,,      :    qualities      inseparable 

from,  489 
,,      :  training  in,  488-9;  491-3 
Fractions  :  nature  of,  446-7 

,,         :  teaching  of,  440-9 
Free     composition     in      foreign 
language,  602 ;  622  ;  627  ;  638  ; 
644  ;  645 
French  compared  Avith  (Terman, 

580-1 
Function  of  education,  2-13 
,,  ,.  schools,  33-4 

,,  ,,  teacher,  19-21 


G  ALTON :     OX      VISUAL 
memorj',  607 
Gardening :  books  recommended 

on,  530 
Gardens  ;  school,  377  ;   529 
Garments  :  making,  547-9 

,,         :  repairing,   551-3 
Gathering  exercises,  545-6 
(Geographical    area  :    study    of, 

308-12 ;  315-20 
Geography  :  books  recommended 
in,  356 
,,  :  excursions,     292-3  ; 

293-4  I 

:  facts  and  principles 
in,  289-90 
,,  :  form     of    teaching, 

349-355 
„  :  function  of,  278-82  ; 

326-7 


Geography;  illustrations  in,  299- 

301  ;  309;  311-2; 

340-1  ;  352-3 

,,  :  later    teaching    of, 

326-7 

:  -Mai^s    in,   298-300; 

305  ;  311-2  ;  353-5 

:  Models  in,  299-301; 

311  ;   340-1 
:  of  British  Isles,  312- 

25 
f)f  continent,  330-1 
ofneighbourhood,293- 

308 
:  order   of  topics  in, 

327-330 
:  physical,   topics  in, 

326-7 
:  reading    books     in, 

351-2 
:  relation  to  history, 
245  ;  274  ;  283-6  ; 
319;  325-330 
:  relation  to  life,  290- 
2  ;  305-8  ;  333-5 
,,  :  I'elation    to    nature 

study,  2,S6-7 ;  388- 
9 
:  selection  of  matter, 

287-93 
:  social  aspect,  305-8  ; 
333-5 
,,  :  text-books  in,  351-2 

Geometrical  ideas  :  formation  of, 

462-4 
Geometry  and  life,  461-3 

,,  :  empiricalstage,  465-6 

:  history  of,  459-61 
of  circle",  466-8 
of    isosceles    triangle, 

468-9 
of  triangle,  469-70 
:  rational  stage,  470-2 
:  relation  to  arithme- 
tic, 414-5 
,,  :  teaching  of,  431 

,,  :  luiiversal  nature  of, 

458 


668 


INDEX. 


German  compared  with  French, 
.580-1 
,,        :  value  of,  561 
Girls  and  mathematics,  415 
Girls'  voices,  206 
Glelin,   von :   on  avoiding  trans- 
lation, 61-1: 
,,  :  on  order  of  teach- 

ing    foreign 
sounds,  588 
,,  :  use    of    unlettered 

phonetic     dia- 
grams, 590 
Good  method  :  marks  of,  52-61 
Grammar,  English  :  function  of, 
181-4 
,,  ,,  :    teaching 

of,  184 
:  foreign,   598  ;    603  ; 
627-642 
Greece  :  geometry  in.  460-1 
,,       :  teaching     history      of, 
245-7 
Greek  education,  6-7 
Green:  on    discoveries    in    ISth 
century,  263 
,,      :  on  English  in  India,  262 
Groups  of  foreign  words,  022-5 
Guiding-lines  in  writing,  166-7  ; 

1G9 
Guyau:   on   meaning   of   know- 
ledge, 10 

HANDICRAFT:   BOOKS 
recommended  in.  530 
Handicraft   in   curriculum,    37  ; 
501-2 
in  metal,  528 
in   paper    and    cai'd- 

board,  519-20 
in  rural  schools,  522-3 
in  wood,  520-8 
,,  :  models  in,  525-7 

,,  :  relation    to    nature 

study,  389  ;  521-2 
:  tools  in,  522-3 
Jliirrisou :  comparison  of  Greece 
and  l-toni.',  249-50 


Harriaon :  on  choice   of  matter 
in  history,  242 
,,         :  on  Greek  civilisation, 

246-7 
,,         :  on    R(jme    and    Car- 
tilage, 247 
Hemming,  539-41 
llerlKirt    and    concentration    of 

studies,  43 
Hei'hai-tian  steps  of  method,  69- 

72 
Herring-boning,  543-5 
Heuristic  methods,  93-4 
Hill,  Alex:  on  value  of  German, 

561 
History  and  foreign  languages, 
560 
and  morals,  226-9 
and  pati'iotism,  226-9 
.,  :  books    recommended 

in,  275-7 
:  courses  in,  231 -7;  243- 

66 
:  divisions  in,  244 
:  function  of,  225-30 
.,  :  illustrations  in,  269- 

72 
in  curriculum,  36-7 
in  schools,  221  ;  230-1 
:  note-books  in,  273 
of  arithmetic,  442-6 
of  geometrj-,  459-61 
:  oral  teaching  in,  236- 

7;  268 
:  relation  to  geography, 
245  ;    274  ;    283-6  ; 
319;  325-30 
:  selection  of    matter, 

231-3  ;  237-43 
:  supplementaiy   read- 
ing in,  272-3 
:  teacher's    knowledge 
of,  221-4;  274-5 
, ,  :  text-books,  267-8 

Home  as  agent  of  education,  4  ; 

14-5 
Home-work  in  foreign  languages, 
598-9  ;  616  ;  646 


669 


IBERIAN  PENINSULA  : 
teaching  geograpliy  of,  341-9 
Ideas  and   facts  in  Geographj', 

289-90 
Ideas  and  facts  in  Histoiy,  241-3 
Idioms,  foreign,  624 
Idylls    of   Kin;/:    treatment    of 

passage  from,  145-56 
Illustrations  in  geographj',  299- 
301;  309;  311-2;  340-1;  352- 
3 
Illustrations  in  history,  269-72 
,,  in    reading    books, 

135 
Imitation  in  speech,  107 
Importance  of  education,  1 
'Indefinite  to  Definite,'  65-6 
Individual :  nature  of,  8-9 
Individualism  in  education,  5-8 
Infant  school :    language  teach- 
ing in,  106-12 
Infant  school :  teaching  of  read- 
ing, 112-9 
Instruction :     arrangement     of, 
42-7 
,,  :    test    of    value    of, 

24-35  ;  48 
Instrumental  nature  of  teaching, 

19-21 
Intellectual  conquest  :    pleasure 

of,  411-2 
Interest  and  memory.  610 
International  good-will,  562-4 
Interfiretation  of  a  foreign  text, 

603-19 
Intonation,  584  ;  590 
'  Introduction '  to  lessons,  55-6 
Isosceles  triangle  :  teaching  geo- 
metry of,  468-9 
Italian  in  girls'  schools,  582 


TAJFES,   WILLIAM:  ON 
varied  repetition,  619 
Jespersen,  0. :  on  teaching  foreign 

pronunciation,  587  ;  599 
Journal    of    Education :    prize 
translation  quoted,  565 


KINDS   OF  LE8S0NS,  72-3 
Knitting  :     teaching     of, 
553-4 
Knowledge  and  skill,  10;  18 
, ,  and  virtue,  11-3 

,,  :  as  test  of  educa- 

tional value,  28-30 
,,  :  correlation  of,  45-6 

,,  :  lessons  for  apply- 

ing, 94-7 
:  lessons  for  increas- 
ing depth  of,  85-94 
:  lessons  for  inci'eas- 
ing  range  of,  74-84 
•  Known  to  Unknown,'  62 

T   A  XC ASTER    AND    EDU- 

1 J     cation  of  poor,  7 

Lane   Poole:    on   decadence   of 

Spain,  335 
Langlois  and  Seifjnohos  :  on  pur- 
pose of  teaeliing  history-,  229 
Language      as     instrument     of 
thought,  101-2 
, ,  as  means  of  communi- 

cation, 102-3 
:  mastery  over,  103-4 
Languages  :  plurality  of,  102 
Langixage  teaeliing  :    foundation 
of,  105-6 
,,  ,,  :  function  of, 

101-5;  175 
,,  ,,         in        infant 

school, 
106-12 
Language  written  :   of  aritlmie- 

tic,  427-8 
Lavisse  :  on  purpose  of  teaching 

liistory,  229-30 
Learning  by  heart,  139-42 
,,  :  effective,  60-1 

fnjni      books,       82-4  ; 

267-8  ;  272-3;  351-2 

:  modes  of,  76-84  ;  91- 

4  ;  96-7  ;  99  ;  100 
:  stimulation  of,  58-60 
Length  :  measurements  of,  431  ; 
455-6 


670 


INDEX. 


Lessons  :  elaisaes  of,  T2-1] 

.,        for  applying  knowledge, 

!)4-7 
,,        for  developing  skill,  97-9 
,,        for  increasing  depth  of 

knowledge,  85-94 
.,        for  increasing   range   of 

knowledge,  74-84 
. ,        :  general  preparation  of, 

20-1 
,,        in     foreign     languages, 
604  ;  645-6 
Letters  :  formation  of,  167 
Liberal  primary  education,   40  ; 

492 
Libraries,  139  ;  650 
Life  and  education,  3  ;  16 
,,     :  factors  in  preparation  for, 
25 
Linguistic  attainment,  569 

,,  course,  571-5 

Listening  in  learning  a  language, 

602-3 
Literature,  English  :  illustrative 
of  other  subjects, 
162-3 
in  curriculum,  36-7 
. ,  in  infant  school,  111-2 

.,  :  interest  in,  104-5 

.,  :  relation   to   nature 

study,  363  ;  389-91 
,,  :  study  of,  143-5 

,,  ,  foreign,  558  ;  560  ; 

571-5  ;   583  ;  647  ; 
650 
Logical  nature  of  teaching,  20- 1 
London  :  study  of,  322  ;  324-5 

MAHOMETANISM.  250 
Maps,      298-300  ;     305  ; 
311-2;  353-5;  376;  646 

Mttiion  :  on  teaching  from  books, 

82-3 
Material  of  instruction  :  arrange- 
ment of,  42-7 
Mathematics    as    mental    disci- 
pline, 409-14 
„  :  axioms  in,  475-9 


Mathematics  :  books  recommen- 
ded in,  482-3  , 
:  definitions    in, 

472-5 
in  child  life,  407-9 
.,  in  curriculum,  37 

,,  in  primary  school, 

406-7 

,,  :  practical,      407  ; 

408; 431-3;  437; 

454-8 

.,  :  pro]jositions     in, 

479-81 

:  I'elatiou    to    life, 

405-6 
:  relation  to  nature 

study,  391-2 
:  simplicity  of   I'e- 
lations  m,  411- 
12 
,,  :  universality     of, 

409 
Maxims  of  method.  62-7 
Meanings  of  foreign  words,  603- 

29  ;  648 
Measurement :  nature  of,  417 
^Mechanical  teaching,  18 
Mediaeval  education,  7 
Mediterranean  :    teaching     geo- 
graphy of,  332 
IVIemorising  in  geography,  355 
jSIemory  of   things   and  words, 

607-8 
Mental    discipline    as    test    of 
educational  vahie,  26-8  ;  29-30 
Mental  faculties,  26-8 
^Method  :  Herhartiaii     steps    of 
69-72 
:  heuristic,  93-4 
in     foreign      languages, 

583-647 
:  logical  and  psvchologi- 
cal,  20-1 
,,        :  marks  of  good,  52-61 
:  maxims  of,  62-7 
:  psychological  basis  of, 
67-9 
Metric  system,  441 


671 


Minll,  Mrs.  L.  C  -.  permutation 
of  letters  as  means  of  interpre- 
tation, 615 
Middle   Ages  :  teaching   historv 

of,  251-6 
Milton :  on    selioul    curriculum, 

138 
Mirrors  :  use  of  in  teaching  prcj- 

nunciation,  585 
Mixed  method  of  teaching  pro- 
nunciation, 599 
Modelling  :  books  recommended 
in,  530 
. ,  :  course     in,      503-5 ; 

509;  517 
,,         from  nature,  5r2-3 
,,         in     curriculum,      37  ; 

499-500 
,,         of  art  forms,  517 
,,  :  relation    to    nature 

study,  389  ;  512-3 
,.  :  teaching  of,  50G-7 

Models  in   geography,  299-301  ; 

311  ;  340-1 
Modern  education,  7-8 

,,        history  :     teaching     of, 

258-66 
,,        Language     Association, 
655 
Modes  of  teaching,  76-84  ;  91-4  ; 

96-7  ;  99  ;  100 
Modulation  in  reading,  130-1 
Money  :  measurement  in,  433 
Moore :  on  teaching  perspective, 

513-4 
Morality  as   aim   of   education, 

11-2 
Morals  and  history,  226-9 
Morley :  and   training  of   judg- 
ment, 412 
,,       :  on  composition,  174-5 
Mother  tongue  :  need  for  teach- 
ing, 102-5 
Motor    activity    in    perception, 

486-8 
Molt,  F.   W.  :  on  memory,  607 
Multiplication,     421-3  ; '  424-5  ; 
428  ;  448 


Multiplication  Tables,  424-5 
Museums  :  school,  384-8 

:  visits  to,  271-2  ;  383- 
384 
Musical   notes  :    reading    from, 

209-11 ;  212 
Music  :  books  recommended  in, 
220 
:  characteristics  of  good, 

195 
:  course  in,  213-9 
:  function  of,  193-4 
in  curriculum,  37 
:  lesson  in,  212-3 
:  objects   of  teaching, 
194-6 

1VTATURAL      HISTORY: 
i_>      books  on,  368-70 
Natural  History  :  books  recom- 
mended  in, 
403-4 
,,  ,,  :  diagrams    in, 

380-2 
,,  .,  :  diaries     in, 

379-80 
:  early    lessons 

in,  392-6 
:  ethical   value 

of,  363 
:  function      of, 

361-3 
in    curriculum, 
37 
.,  ..  intermediate 

lessons     in, 
396-9 
later     lessons 

in,  399-403 
meaning     of, 
357  ;  359-60 
models     in, 

380-2 
note-books  in, 

382 
place         in 
schools,  358- 
61  :  365 


672 


INDEX. 


Naluial  History  :  relation     to 
composition. 
383  ;  389-90 
,,  ,,  :  relation    to 

drawing, 
389  ;  512-3 
,,  ,,  :  relation    to 

geography, 
•286-7 ;  388-9 
,,  ,,  :  relation    to 

handicraft, 
319  ;  521-2 
,,  ,,         :  relation    to 

literatm-e, 
303;  389-91 
,,  ,,  :  relation    to 

mathematics, 
391-2 
,,  ,,  :  relation    to 

modelling, 
389 
,,  ,,  :  relation    to 

object     les- 
sons, 358-9 
,,  ,,  :  relation    to 

science,  362 
,,  ,,         societies,  368 

■  ,,  ,,  :  subject  -  niat- 

terof,  359-61 
,,  ,,  :  teaching     of, 

363-4 
,,  .,  :  training       of 

teachers  of, 
365-70 
Natural  science   as   ti'aining   in 

reasoning,  413 
Needlework  :  books   recommen- 
ded in,  556 
:  exercises  in,  537-8 
:  function  of,  531 
:  judgment  in,  534- 
5 
,.  :  self-teaching      in, 

538-9 
:  skill  in,  531-4 
,,  :  teaching  of,  535-7 

,,  :  teaching    stitches 

in,  539-46 


Nomic  method  of  teaching  pro- 
nunciation, 593-7 

Notation  :  arithmetical,        421  ; 
440-1 ;  442-6 
,,  :  nuisical,  209-11 

Notes  :  singing  from,  209-11 ;  212 

Noun  inflections  :  foreign,  033 

Novels  in  school,  137-8 

Number  :  nature  of,  418-9  ;  438- 
40 

Numeration,  420-1  ;  442-6 

OBJECT  LESSONS,  358-9 
Objects  of  historic  interest, 
270-2 
Oppenheim  •  on  children's  tastes, 

231-2 
Oral  method  of  teaching  foreign 
pronunciation,  592;  619; 
637;  641 
,,     spelling,  172 
.,     teaching,  80-2  ;  236-7  ;  268 
Orchestras  in  school,  196 
Orderh'  process  in  teaching,  57-8 
Orthograpliy  :  foreign,  591-600 
Outline  drawing,  511 
Outlines  in  composition,  178-9 

PAPER:     HANDICRAFT 
in,  519-20 
Paragraph  :  teaching  of,  177-8 
Parallelism   between   child   and 

race,  00-7 
Paraphrasing  :  use  of,  567 
Farlcman  :    on     Frederick     the 
Great,  262 
,,  .•    on  French  and  Eng- 

lish  in    America, 
261 
:    on  results  of  Seven 
Years'  War,  202-3 
.,  :    on    United    States, 

263 
Participle,    French  :    agreement 

of,  639 
ParfiiKiton,  Miss  V. :  on  teaching 

foreign  literature,  650 
Part-singing,  201-2 


673 


Passages  for  recitation  :    choice 

of,  139-40 
Patriotism  and  history,  226-9 
Patterns  in  needlework,  547-8 
Payne:  quoted,  658 
Percentage:  teaching  of,  451-2 
Perceptual  activity,  48-9  ;  485- 

8  ;  493-7 
Perse  School,  Cambridge,  614 
Perseverance  in  learning,  51-2 
Perspective  :  teaching  of,  513-4 
Pestalozzi  and  education  of  poor, 

7 

,,        .-  '  sacred  I'ight  of  dis- 
covery,' 630-1 
Phonetic  diagrams,  590-1 

,,        International   Associa- 
tion, 596 
,,        method  of  teaching  to 

read,  115-6 
,,        transcript,  587-9 
Phonic  analysis  :  use  of,  117-8 
Phonograph  :  use  of,  591 
Phrasing  in  reading,  129 
Physiological  importance  of  mo- 
tor activity,  495-7 
Pictures  in  reading  books,  135 
,,        in  teaching  foreign  lan- 
guages, 606-19 ;  647 
Place  names  in  geography,  319  ; 

349 
Planning  in  handicraft,  524-5 
Plans  :  drawing  of,  432-3 
Poetry  :  reading  of,  131-3 
Potato  :  lessons  on,  397-8 
Practical      arithmetic,       431-3; 

437 ;  454-7 
Practice   in   foreign    languages, 
619-25  ;     629-31  ; 
640;  642 
,,         in  reading  aloud,  133 
,,         in  teaching:    relation 
to  theory,  17-8 
Prejudice  :  national,  662-4 
Preparation  for  life  :  factors  in, 

25 
'  Preparation '  in  lessons,  56 
Preparation  of  lessons,  20-1 
PK.  TG. 


Prepositions  in  French,  634 
Primary  schools  :  curriculum  of, 
35-41 
,1  ,,        :  nature  of,  35 

Problems  in  arithmetic,  429-30 
'  Proceed  from — 
Concrete  to  Abstract,'  63-4 
Easy  to  More  Difficult,"  62-3 
Empirical  to  Rational,'  63-4 
Indefinite  to  Delinite,'  65-6 
Known  to  Unknown,'  62 
Simple  to  Complex,'  64-5 
Progress   in   teaching :    orderly, 

o  i  -8 
Pronunciation    in    foreign    lan- 
guages, 584-600 
Proof  :  nature  of,  470-2 
Proportion  :  teaching  of,  449-51 
Propositions  in  geometry,  479-81 
Proverbs   in    modern    language 

teaching,  624 
Psychological   basis  of  method, 
67-9 
,,  importance    of 

motor  activity, 
495-7 
),  nature    of   teach- 

ing, 19-21 
Pardie,  Miss  F.  M.:  on  develop- 
ing literarj' 
taste,  572  ; 
574;  650 
>»  :  on     Form 

Libraries, 
650 
>>  :  on      French 

plays     and 
songs,  586 
Purpose  in  learning,  53-4 


QUANTITY:    METRICAL, 
584  ;  590 
,,  :  nature  of,  438- 

40 
Questioning,  91-2 
Quesf ionnaires  :    value  of,  611: 
625-7 

43 


674 


INL>EX. 


I  RAMSAY:  ON  TEACHING 
\j     science,  93 
Kauge    of    knowledge  :     lessons 

for  increasing,  7-4-84 
Rapidity  in  writing,  169-70 
Ratio  :  teaching  of,  449-50 
'  Reader  ' :  as  centre  of  modern 

language  instruction,  603-4 
Reading  aloud,  122-3  ;  126-8 
,,        :  alphabetic        method, 

114-5 
.,        :  amomrt    of     practice, 

133 
,,       hooks,  134-8 
,,       by     teacher     to     class, 

121-2 
,,        :  early      teaching      of, 

112-9 
,,        :  elocutionary,  123-5 
.,        :  emphasis  in,  129-30 
,,        :  essence  of,  122 
,,        :  expression  in,  127-8 
in     foreign     languages, 
569  ;  571  ;  574  ;  648-9 
, ,       in  infant  schools,  1 1 2-9 
,,        :  mistakes  in,  126-7 
:  modulation  in,  130-1 
of  music,  209-11 
.,       of  poetr3%  131-3 
,,        :  phonetic      methods, 

115-6 
,,        :  phrasing  in,  129 
,,        :  relation    to    composi- 
tion, 180 
.,        :  suitable    matter    for, 

134-5 
,,        :  teaching  of,  125-34 
,.       to       hearers       without 

books,  134 
,,        :  with      elder      pupils, 

128-34 
.,        :  with   younger  pupils, 
125-8 
Recall-words     in     foreign     lan- 
guage, 626  ;  638 
Recitation,  139-42 
Recreative  songs,  198-9 
Reduction :  teaching  of,  426-7 


Reform     method     in     teaching 

foreign  languages,  650 
Repetition   io   teaching   foreign 

languages,  619-20 
Result   of    teaching :    effective, 

60-1 
Revolution  of   earth  :    teaching 

of,  340-1 
Rhyme,  144 
liippmann,    W.  :      on    teaching 

foreign  vocabulaiy,  519 
River:  study  of,  295-7;  301-2 
Boi  desMoiitagnes:  passage  from, 

620 
Rome :      teaching     history     of, 

247-50 
Hooper:  on  speech,  78 

,,      :  on  study  of  things,  79 
Bossetii :  line  from,  558 
Rotation  of  earth  :  teaching  of, 

340-1 
Rotundity  of  earth  :  teaching  of, 

323-4 
Rounds,  201-2 
Running  in  needlewoi'k,  541 
Rural    schools ;     handicraft   in, 

527-9 
Biiskiti :  on  education,  142 

QCHOOL:    AS    AGENT    OF 
O     education,  4  ;  15-6  ;  23-4 
School  aquaria,  377-8 

,,      choirs,  196 

,,      concerts,  196 

, ,      excursions,  292-3  ;  293-4  ; 
370-7 

,,      gardens,  377;  529 

,,      libraries,  138 

.,      museums,  384-8 

,,      orchestras,  196 

,,       :  primary,  35 

,,      songs,  197-9 

,,       terraria,  378-9 
Schools  :  types  of,  34-5 
Science  and    foreign   languages, 
661  ;  669 

,,       as  training  in  reasoning, 
413 


INDEX. 


675 


Seaming,  541 
Seeds  :  lessons  on,  392-G 
Seeley :  on    aims    of    Napok-ou. 
264 
,,      :  on        competition       for 

America,  25S 
,,      :  on  divisions  in  history, 

239 ;  243 
,,      :  on  India,  261 
,,      :  on   interest   in   liistorv, 

240-1 
,,      :  on  War  of  Spanish  Rue- 
cession,  261 
Sewing  machines,  ooO-l 
Shakespea7-e :  treatment  of  a  i:)lav 

of,  lo9-62 
Shelley:  on  Venice,  162-3 
'Simple  to  Complex,'  64-5 
Singing  hy  ear,  199-201 
,,       in  parts,  201-2 
'Situation':  dealing  with,  10 
Skill  :  development     of,     97-9  • 
493-5 
,,     :  in  needlework,  531-4 
,,     :  in  woodwork,  523 
,,      :  relation     to    knowledo-e, 
10  ;  18  ;  29-30  ;  493-5 
,,     :  social  importance  of,  497-8 
^ ,,     :  training  of,  498-9  ;  502 
Social  aspect  of  education,  5-9 
Socrates     on      knowledge     and 

■\nrtue,  9  ;  11  ;  17 
Somervell:  on  teaching  liistorv 
274-5  .       ' 

Songs  for  school  use,  197-9 
,,      in  foreign  languages,  586 
,,      :  words  of,  208-9 
Sound-chart,  590 

,,      -columns,  595 
Sounds  :  classifying,  594-6 
Spanish  instead  of  German,  581 
Speaking    a    foreign    language. 

569;  573 
Specialised  teaching,  41 
Speech:  drill  in,  109-11  ;  126 
,,       :  expression         through. 

107-9;   164;   175-6 
,,       :  imitation  in,  107 


Spelling,  English  :    teaching   of, 

170-3 

5,         foreign :  teaching     of. 

597-600 ;  603  ; 

642 

Spencer:  on  aim  of  education,  3 

,,       :  on  test  of  value,  25  ;  29 

Stevenson:  treatment  of  passage 

from,  158-9 
Stimulus  in  teaching,  58-60 
Stormonth :  on  £  s.  d. ,  445 
Starr,  F.  :  on  art  of  translation, 

558 
Stream  :  study  of,  295-7  :  ■''97-8  • 

301-2 
Stiihhs:  on    lessons    of    history, 
226-7 
. .      :  on  modern  history,  225-6 
,,      :  on  Partition  of  Poland, 

264 
,,      :  on    Protestantism    and 

Politics,  258 
, ,      :  on  use  of  history,  225 
Subject-matter    in    foreign    lan- 
guages, 570  ;  574-8  ;  604 
Subtraction,     421 ;     423  ;     42S  • 

447-8 
Su-eet,  Dr. :  anecdote  to  illustrate 
stress,  590 
,,  :  phonetic   diagrams, 

589 
Symbols    in    arithmetic,    435-7 ; 

448-9 
Sympathy  :  extension  of,  280-2  ; 

562-4 
Synonyms,  624 
Syntax,  foreign  :  639-42 


TABLES  IN  ARITHMETIC, 
424-6 

Teacher  :  function  of,  19-21 

,,         :  reading  to  pupils.  121-2 
Teaching  :  factors  in,  19 

;  logical  basis  of,  19-21 
:  modes  of.  76-84;  91-4; 

96-7;  99;  100 
:  oral,  80-2 


67G 


INBEX. 


Teaching :  preparation  for,  20-1 
,,  :  psychological  basis  of, 

19-21 
,,  :  relation  to  education, 

17;  24 

,,  :  specialised,  41 

,,  :  stimulating,  58-60 

,,  :  theory   and    practice 

in,  17-8 

Technique   in  linguistic  studies, 

631 
Tennyson:  teaching  passages 

from,  14.')-56 
Terraria,  378-9 

Test  of  educational  vahu\  24-30 
Text-book  in  geography  :  use  of, 
351-2 
,,  in   histoiy  :     use    of, 

279-80 
Text-questions   in    foreign    lan- 
guages, 625-7 
Things  :  direct  study  of,  78-80  ; 

294-5 
Time  Tables,  46-7 
Time  tests,  201  ;  210 
Tone  in  singing,  205-8 
Tonic  Sol-fa,  209-10 
Tools  in  handicraft,  522-3 
Touch  in  apprehension  of  form, 

485-6 
Town  life  :  study  of,  307-8 
Tradition  :  influence  on  curricu- 
lum, 39-40 
Training  of  faculties,  26-8 
Transcription,  167-8  ;  171  ;  592 ; 

596-600 
Translation  as  a  fine  art,  564-70  ; 
578-80 ;  650-1 
,,  as    a  method   of   in- 

struction,   564  ; 
579  (note),  606-19 
,,  as       a      method     of 

teaching     foreign 
words,  617 
as  a  test,  616  ;  643 
,,  :  compared       with 

original   composi- 
tion, 566 


Translation  :  danger  of  mechani- 
cal association  by, 
609 
:  exercise      in      dog- 
English,  606 
into       the       foreign 
tongue,  579; 618; 
650 
:  its   value  as  a  fine 

art,  564-8 
:  its  value  as  a  means 
of  interpretation, 
606-19 
,,  :  mental,  613 

:  mental  discipline  it 

gives,  564-70 
:  mental  processes  in- 
volved in,  565-7 
:  method  of  teaching 
translation    as    a 
fine  art,  650 
:  place  (as  a  fine  art) 
in  the  course,  578 
,,  :  subconscious,  618-9 

Travelling,   use   of   foreign   lan- 
guages in,  561-2 
Triangle  :  teaching  geometry  of, 
468-70 
,,       vowel,  588-9;  594 
Tune  tests,  210-1 

UNITS,      NATURE     OF, 
419-20  ;  438-40 
Utility  as  aim  of  school,  492-3 
Utterance  :  training  of,  109-11 

■TTALUE    AS    DISCIPLINE, 

V        26-8  ;  29-30 
Value  as  knowledge,  28  ;  30 
,,      :  meaning  of,  22 
,,      :  relativity  of,  22-4 
,,      :  test  of,  24-35  ;  48 
Van  Liew  :  on  '  Preparation,'  69- 

70 
Variations  in  curriculum,  38-9 
Venice  :  Shelley's  lines  on,  162-3 
Verbal  distinctions  in  grammar, 
182 ;  183 


o; 


Verb-drill  in  foreign  languages, 

79-83 
Verlaine,  quoted,  3 
Vietor,   on   translation  into    tlio 

foreign  language,  23 
Village  life  :  study  of,  306-7 
Villon :  quoted,  559 
Virtue  :  relation   to   knowledge. 

11-3 
Visits  to  historic  buildings,  270-1 
,,     to  museums,  271-2  ;  383-4 
Vocabulaiy  :  foreign,  000-19 
Vocal  drill,  109-11  ;  12G 
Voices  of  boj's  and  girls,  205-(j 
Voice  training,  203-8 
Volume  :  measiirements  of,  -t.17 
Vowels,  foreign  :  order  in  which 

taught,  587 
Vowel-triangle,  588-9  ;  59-1 


^^ 


T  A  L  TER    {MA  X),     0 X 

class  singing  in 
foreign  lan- 
guages, 586 

grammar  prac- 
tice in  foreign 
languages,  641 

method  of  inter- 
pretation,614- 
5 

on  recollecting 
contexts,  621 

f)n  teaching  of 
foreign  litera- 
ture, 650 

on    uni  -  lingual 
dictionaries, 
617 


Waltor  {,}rax},   on  laso  of  black- 
boardin teach- 
ing   foreign 
languages,  627 
too  much  speak- 
ing by  begin- 
ners     jeopar- 
dises    foreign 
pronunciation, 
594 
Weight  :  measurements  of,  433 
Welsh  instead  of  German,  581 
AVisdom,  11 
Wood  :  carving  in,  ijOl  ;  518-9 

,,       :  handicraft  in,  520-8 
Wood-work  in  rural  schools,  527- 
S 
,,  :  models  in,  525-7 

,,  :  nature  of,  520-1 

:  relation  to  nature 
study,  521-32 
,,  :  tools  in,  522-3 

Word  building,  172-3 
Words  in  singing,  208-9 

,,       :    variations    in    meaning, 
609 
Working  notions  in   arithmetic, 

416-7 
Writing:    teaching     of,     112-4; 

165-70 
Written  language  of  arithmetic, 

427-8 
^Vritten  -v^ork  in  learning  foreign 
languages,  603  ;  642-5 


V 


rORKSHIRE  :   TEACHING 

geography  of,  308-12 


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